TATA Motors used the recent the Futuroad Expo 2019 event in South Africa to launch two new models for its HCV (heavy commercial vehicles) Ultra range of trucks.
The new 7.5t Ultra Plus 1418 and an AMT variant of the Ultra 814 variant were unveiled in Johannesburg, joining the 5.5t Ultra 1014 and three models from the Prima range – the Prima 2528.K 6 x4 Tipper, Prima 3338.K 8×4 Tipper and Prima 4938.S – at an official event.
While the Ultra AMT 814 is from the existing range, the Ultra Plus 1418 is an entirely new multipurpose vehicle in the Heavy Commercial Vehicle (HCV) range.
The Ultra Plus 1418 is powered by the TATA New Gen 5.0L common rail engine. It will be available in wheelbase options of 4900 and 5300 mm.
The vehicle will also offer a payload capacity between 7-8T making it ideal for both medium and short haul distribution, said TATA, adding that the tractor head offers class leading value and low cost of operation.
According to local media, Rudrarup Maitra, head (commercial vehicles), Tata Motors International Business, said that South Africa market is one of its strategically important hubs in Africa as it continues to expand across the continent and the nearby Middle East market.
The Free Press Journal quoted Maitra as saying: “As a brand, we would like to be in the top three in any segment or sub-segment that we participate in, in each country that we are in and I think that is how we pick and choose where we are going to be present and how we are going to be present.
“The whole of sub-Saharan Africa as well as southern Africa has been key for us for the past 10 to 15 years. We are getting increasingly committed to Africa. I only see this relationship getting deeper.”
