In terms of manufacturing, what are some of the features that you have introduced in this bus with regards to the Indian conditions?
CityLife has been conceptualised keeping in mind the Indian travel sentiments. It has an Inverted Portal Axle (IPA) leading to the low-floor construction and completely flat floor from front to back; an Independent Front Suspension (IFS) ensuring a stress-free ride and extra passenger comfort (first time in India).
The construction is based on the globally-acclaimed monocoque platform, which has a single uniform frame structure that reduces the number of weld points, unlike a conventional body-on-chassis configuration. This results in uniform load distribution throughout the body, ensuring maximum strength and lower vehicle weight.
Owing to complete flat floor, the carrying capacity of CityLife is 41 sitting and 59 standing passengers. With lesser number of CNG cylinders but with higher volume, CityLife can run more in a single CNG refill compared to existing buses in the city.
The monocoque platform offers a significant reduction in maintenance costs, thereby promising lower total cost of ownership for customers. Successful for more than 35 years across the globe, the durable power-train adds to the product's credibility, which has undergone thousands of kilometres of testing in Indian conditions as well.
Customer trials of the vehicle will commence soon with the product set to hit the market shortly thereafter in three engine options: 230 hp and 280 hp CNG, and 280 hp diesel. For the comfort of specially-abled people, a separate space has been allotted with a provision of a wheel-chair ramp. Additionally, the double-door entry and exit enhances commuter convenience. Besides standard features, fitment options such as automatic ticket machines and rear-view cameras could be fitted on the vehicle as per customer preference and demand.

You have started off with the intra-city bus. Will you be looking at other? Any plans to get into trucks?
Going ahead, we will concentrate on building an integrated bus portfolio. But there are no plans towards trucks manufacturing.

You will be manufacturing the buses at your plants in Faridabad (Haryana) and Kosi (Uttar Pradesh). Tell us about the manufacturing capabilities and capacities of these two plants?
The company has commissioned state-of-the-art production facilities at Faridabad (Haryana) and Kosi Kalan (UP) that will be operational by October 2014. The monocoque body structure shall be manufactured in Faridabad while the assembly will be undertaken at Kosi. At peak capacity, these plants will roll out 2,000 buses annually.

JBM Group is a diversified manufacturer with substantial presence in auto components manufacturing. Do you see this project will catapult you into the bigger league?
Yes, we at JBM are extremely bullish about this project and strongly believe that this project shall catapult us in the big league. Our current group turnover is Rs7,000 crore and we target to reach Rs10,000 crore in the next two years. We firmly believe that the bus project shall be a major driver of overall growth trajectory in the next few years.
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