Tata Daewoo supplies 2 remote-breach fire trucks to Vietnam

Tata Daewoo Mobility has delivered two remote-breach water cannon trucks built on its Maxen heavy-truck platform to Vietnam, as the company moves to expand exports of special-purpose vehicles beyond standard freight trucks and build out a local maintenance and parts network.

The company said Monday it supplied two units based on the Maxen Euro6 6×4 to the Hanoi Fire and Rescue Police.

A remote-breach water cannon truck is a specialized fire vehicle equipped with onboard machinery that can pierce the exterior walls or structures of a building and spray water directly onto the fire source inside. It can be operated remotely at large-scale fire scenes where direct human access is dangerous, reducing firefighters' exposure to risk.

The vehicles are particularly effective at fires involving sandwich-panel buildings, where reaching the interior fire source from outside is difficult. Demand for specialized firefighting equipment has grown both domestically and abroad as fire types diversify, including electric vehicle fires.

The Maxen, the platform underlying these vehicles, is Tata Daewoo Mobility's heavy-truck line. It features a power take-off system that transfers engine power to external equipment, along with a high-rigidity frame, allowing it to carry large specialized equipment such as water pumps, booms and hydraulic systems.

The specialized bodywork was handled by Jinwoo SMC. Tata Daewoo Mobility signed an MOU with the company in October last year covering fire trucks and aerial work platforms, and the two have since pursued joint development of government-use special-purpose vehicles and overseas market entry.

Building on this delivery, Tata Daewoo Mobility plans to expand its Vietnam lineup to include fire pump trucks, ladder trucks and chemical fire trucks. The company has previously supplied special-purpose fire vehicles to Vietnam and intends to scale up that business in the market in earnest.

Alongside vehicle sales, the company will strengthen its maintenance and parts supply chain across northern Vietnam. It plans to establish a so-called "3S" framework — covering sales, service and spare parts — to handle upkeep and repairs locally after each delivery.

"Exporting the Maxen-based remote-breach water cannon truck is a meaningful achievement that demonstrates the competitiveness of our domestically proven special-purpose platform technology and Korean fire trucks in overseas markets," a Tata Daewoo Mobility official said. "We will continue working with a range of specialized-body partners while building a business foundation that covers everything from sales to service and parts supply, strengthening our presence in the Southeast Asian special-purpose vehicle market, starting with Vietnam."

Meanwhile, Tata Daewoo Mobility is also accelerating development of autonomous driving technology for commercial vehicles. Earlier this month, the company partnered with autonomous driving software firm Rideflux to pursue mass production of a Level 2+ driver-assistance system and commercialization of Level 4 autonomous driving, both based on the Maxen and Gusen platforms.