NEW DELHI: In the midst of a row over Army Chief Gen V K Singh's bribery allegations, manufacturer of Tatra trucks today said the heavy vehicles have not faced any quality issues in the last 20 years.
Gen Singh had recently alleged that he was offered a bribe of Rs 14 crore by a lobbyist to clear the sale of a tranche of 600 'substandard' trucks for the Army.
"Tatra supplies only 30-35 per cent of the parts and the balance are produced or furnished by BEML, which assembles the trucks. Tatra has not heard of any quality issue from BEML in last 20 years," Tatra CEO Ronald Adams said in a statement.
On the issue of over-pricing of these trucks, he said, "Tatra is a vehicle specially designed for severe Army use. It is unique in its construction and not a vehicle simply converted from civilian use to military use. We remain competitive globally."
Adams said more than 38 armies in the world have either used or are using the Tatra trucks and many continue to place repeat orders.
Indian armed forces have been using Tatra trucks since 1986 and since then, 7,000 of them have been inducted.
The Army has not procured even a single one of them after from March 2010. In a press release issued on March 5, Army had alleged that Lt Gen Tejinder Singh had offered a bribe on behalf of Tatra and Vectra.