It remains unclear whether the order JCB India secured was placed before or after the company’s decision to halt operations in Russia in March 2022, a move made in response to the nation’s invasion of Ukraine.
JCB India has recently achieved a major milestone by securing an order for 1,000 hybrid construction machines from Russia. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari announced this significant development during his address at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit on January 11. In his speech, Gadkari recounted his earlier suggestion to JCB about creating a hybrid machine that combines diesel with CNG. He expressed his satisfaction that JCB had successfully received an order for 1,000 such machines, underscoring the industry’s movement towards embracing alternative fuels. This achievement follows JCB India’s introduction of a dual-fuel backhoe loader in November 2020, which operates on both diesel and CNG through homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI) technology.
This business accomplishment is particularly notable given the backdrop of JCB’s UK headquarters deciding to “pause” all operations in Russia in March 2022 in response to the country’s military actions in Ukraine. This pause included halting the export of machines and spare parts to Russia. JCB’s decision mirrored actions taken by other industry giants such as Hitachi, Caterpillar, and John Deere, who reportedly made similar moves in response to the geopolitical situation.
Despite this significant order, there remains ambiguity regarding the timing of its placement. It is not clear whether the order was secured before or after JCB’s decision to suspend its operations in Russia, leaving a question mark over the precise circumstances surrounding this deal.
