Is investment in body-on-frame platforms worthwhile in today's age?

TATA has stepped off the platform and Toyota too is planning to get off the Fortuner and introduce the Hybrid car. Only Mahindra and Force have been riding the Diesel body on ladder frame vehicle

BHPian DRPSREDDY recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Companies are going the lighter route to save on Cafe norms as the government is tightening the noose around OEMs. There is severe pressure to cut down on Carbon footprint. There is a call to go all-electric and choose alternative green energy.

Today the automotive industry is at a crossroads to choose a new green energy source powertrain. With many options and theories floating for new power options, it is confusing as a customer about what fuel to choose. Most of the public is playing safe by going the conventional way of Petrol, CNG, Hybrids, e-power, and quite a handful of Electric powertrains. More options such as:

• Hydrogen
• Battery Sodium/Solid State/etc
• Green fuels
• Solar
• BIO-fuels

....are been researched but still not yet or have been just getting out into commercialization.

In such an environment, TATA has stepped off the platform and Toyota too is planning to get off the Fortuner and introduce the Hybrid car. Only Mahindra and Force have been riding the Diesel body on ladder frame vehicles and Mahindra has had a dream run firing up the sales chart. Also, the Indian government has gone slow and expects only 30% EV penetration by 2030 and research expects roughly about 33% of each market share for ICE, Hybrids, and EVs by then. Many have wished Tata get back the Safari Strome.

In such a scenario, as the technology is at such a crossroads and economic environment, is R&D and rolling out new cars of body and ladder frame chassis vehicles still viable?

Do you think the juggernaut should continue.....

Here's what BHPian Asoon had to say on the matter:

BOF was serving a purpose, if with advancement in metallurgy, improved materials / structural strength, and technology can achieve BOF plus points in a lighter, compact, more comfortable setup then it will be phased off.

Today, BOFs are required for Towing, carrying more Passengers & off-road requirements. Carrying passengers is solved (Innova Hycross, Force Traveller), 4 Independent electric motors enabling tank turn will solve off-road, and probably towing is also sorted (I am not aware). BOF days are coming to an end.

Here's what BHPian Kosfactor had to say on the matter:

I do not think BOF as a technical aspect of a vehicle holds much value in a buyer`s mind, Case in point is Innova Hycross.

What matters however for the BOF platform is how much excitement individual products can bring to the market. Just adding doors or having a 4x4 or a pickup bed etc does not make a vehicle exciting, the entire package has to appeal to the buyer at the end of the day.

If we had thought that BOF is limited to MUV and SUV, well we were wrong because an SWB 2-door Jeep became a volume seller.

So what next? Maybe a Thar-based pickup truck with a removable top perhaps! Who knows.

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

Body-on-frame will continue for a long time in SUVs, because it is easier to develop, cheaper to develop, extremely abuse-friendly, offroad-friendly, and for owners, cheaper to repair after an accident. That's why commercial taxis have long loved the BoF MUVs & SUVs.

On the contrary, I would say that Mahindra has made body-on-frame SUVs their USP. The Scorpio-N, Bolero & Thar have a long legion of fans, as does the mighty Fortuner. Mahindra sells 25,000 body-on-frame UVs every month, while Toyota easily does 5000 - 6000 (Fortuner & Innova Crysta combined)

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