JCB India has secured a significant order for 1,000 hybrid construction machines from Russia, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said during his speech at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit held on January 11.
“I had told and requested JCB to make a hybrid machine of diesel with CNG. They have got an order for 1000 units for such machines,” Gadkari said while highlighting the efforts that companies are undertaking for adopting alternative fuels. JCB India launched a dual-fuel backhoe loader in November 2020 that runs on diesel and CNG using homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI) technology.
A JCB India spokesperson refused to comment.
The development comes even as the UK-headquartered JCB “paused” all operations in Russia in March 2022, following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. The company said it had also paused the export of machines and spare parts to that country. Some of JCB’s peers from the industry, including Hitachi, Catterpillar and John Deere, among others, were also reported to have followed a similar move.
It could not be independently ascertained if the bagged order was made before or after JCB decided to suspend its operations in Russia.
