Tata Signa 4323.T - India’s first 6 axle rigid truck from Tata Trucks
Tata Trucks is the first word that comes to anyone mind when we think about Indian Trucks, and rightly called so. All of us have seen Tata Trucks at every corner of the country, every road, right from childhood. Tata Motors, the pioneer in introducing the country’s first 4 axle rigid truck with lift-axle in 2006 (Tata LPT 3118), first 5 axle rigid truck with lift-axle in 2011 (Tata LPT 3718), showcased the Tata Signa 4323.T- India's highest tonnage rigid Truck- 43 Ton GVW - 6 Axle truck at the Auto Expo 2018.
The mammoth Signa 4323.T from Tata Trucks stable, is essentially a 16 wheeler, 12x2 rigid haulage truck with 1 tag lift axle and 1 pusher lift axle. Currently, 37 Ton is the highest GVW point offered in Indian Trucks industry, as far as rigid haulage trucks are concerned. LPT 3718 is the highest GVW truck from Tata Trucks stable. And with this 37 Tonner market leader, Tata Motors already has the prowess and know-how of both the tag axle technology as well as lift axle technology. And the same has helped Tata Motors in quickly creating a new segment of 6 axle rigid trucks. The pusher and tag lift axle comes with automatic lifting and lowering mechanism depending on the vehicle load and thus helps in increasing mileage as well as tyre life especially in case of empty return trips. Tata Signa 4323.T offers an industry-leading payload of 29.5 Tons, which is 4.5 tonnes higher than the currently available LPT 3718 and 2.5 tonnes higher than even the Signa 4018.S tractor (tractor trailer segment requires highly skilled drivers too). The new Signa 4323.T promises to offer lowest running cost/ per ton/per km and hence highest profitability to its customers. Read More : Scoop – 49 Ton Tractor from Eicher Trucks & Buses caught testing The new Tata truck will be available in 29 ft to 30 ft deck length options and will be most suitable for applications like Cement (Bags, Bulker), POL/Non POL Tankers, Industrial Goods, Packed Lubes, Reefers, Coal and Agriculture. As per industry sources, the company is planning to introduce 32 ft load body also in this vehicle. Powered by Cummins ISBe 6.7L engine (ISBe 5.9 L option), Tata Signa 4323.T produces a max power of 229 HP and 850 Nm torque, mated to a 6 speed G950 gearbox. It offers a max gradeability of 19.3% and max speed of 80 Km/Hr.  The new Tata truck comes with Signa AC Sleeper cab, Parabolic leaf springs at front & Bell Crank suspension at Rear. As per industry sources, this new Tata truck is slated for commercial launch in the 1st qtr of 2018-19 financial year. What is competition doing to go beyond 37 Ton GVW ? While TML has worked on the 43T GVW node with 6 axles, other Indian Truck manufacturers are also working their own way in creating a higher GVW rigid truck.
- Ashok Leyland 4123 was recently showcased at its Global Dealers Conference in Chennai recently. This 5 axle rigid Ashok Leyland truck with twin tyre pusher lift axle, offers a maximum GVW of 40.2 Tons.
- Eicher Trucks & Buses (VECV) is also known to be testing their 41T rigid truck concept in the market.
16 wheeler truck under testing from Eicher Trucks & Buses
- This 41T GVW node will still be a notch above the currently available 37 Tonners (Pro 6037 and Captain 3718 respectively) in the market, but will essentially be a similar 5 axle rigid truck with 4 wheel pusher axle instead of the usual 2 wheels in the 37T truck.
- Mahindra Truck and Bus, was earlier offering its 37 Tonner Blazo 37 with tag lift axle (which wasn’t that big a hit in the market). It has recently introduced Mahindra Blazo 37 with pusher axle also, to at least get some share of volumes in the exponentially increasing 37 Ton TIV. And, therefore MTB can very well catch up with the 43T segment conceptualized by Tata Motors.
Read More :Â Tata Motors launches new Ultra range of Trucks With the increasing overload restrictions on national highways, the industry is fast increasing towards higher GVW and therefore higher rated payload trucks. As a learning from the trend being noticed with 37 Ton GVW Indian trucks market, all OEMs are competing towards launching the new higher GVW long haul truck before anyone else does. The MHCV range of Tata Trucks have raised the industry standard by offering the highest ever warranty of 6 Years / 6 Lakh Km on driveline. While no doubt Tata Trucks still continue to enjoy the market leader position, but there is neck to neck race between Tata Trucks powered by SCR technology and Ashok Leyland Trucks powered by iEGR technology.