The Jonga was a Nissan designed vehicle formerly used by the Indian Army. Jonga was an acronym for Jabalpur Ordnance aNd Guncarriage Assembly, manufactured by the Vehicle Factory Jabalpur. They were produced for the Indian Army under an exclusive license granted by Nissan in 1965. The vehicle entered service in 1969 and production ceased in 1999. It served as one of the Indian Army's jeeps until it was phased out and replaced mostly by the Mahindra MM540 jeep.
History
The Indian Army showed an interest at the Nissan Patrol P60 and the Nissan 4W73 in the 1960s. A decision was made to prioritize the eventual production of the jeeps in the aftermath of the Sino-Indian War.https://eparlib.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/4561/1/pac_6_109_1979.pdfThe factory manufacturing the Jonga was commissioned for a cost of Rs. 32.06 crores by November 1965. The costs were revised again twice; firstly, on December 1970 for Rs. 41.53 crores and again in January 1973 for Rs. 46.84 crores. The first Jongas made by VFJ were produced in 1969 for military use. A civilian variant of the Jonga was later made in 1996. In 1999, the production of the Jonga stopped with 100 of them sold to civilians. In 2013, it was reported that 20,000 Jongas were still in service with the Indian military. It also has reported sales of 2,000 Jongas to the state governments of Kerala, and Jammu and Kashmir.
Design
As the Jonga's design was based on the Nissan P60 and 4W73, it made maintenance easy due to access to COTS parts. In 1996, the VFJ introduced the new 3.0L Hinodiesel engine for civilian versions, which was sourced with assistance from Ashok Leyland. It was known for its high ground clearance at 222 mm, its power at 3,800 rpm and peak torque at 1,800 rpm. The Jonga was originally made for 6 people before changes were made to allow seating capacity for up to 8 people. In 2014, it was reported that the Advanced Material and Process Research Centre was working on an aluminum-based composite material, which was used to develop a brake drum from a combination of metal, ceramic and aluminum, and for other automobile components; this was produced in partnership with the Vehicle Research and Development Establishment. According to AMPRI, the item was tested by VFJ on a Jonga, which reported an increase in braking efficiency.
Variants
The Jonga was known to be used as a general purpose vehicle, ambulance, gun carrier for recoilless rifles, recon and patrol vehicle.
Criticism
There were reports that the Jonga's wheel bearings were prone to falling off according to a Border Roads Organisation report. VFJ teams sent to inspect the damaged vehicles concluded that maintenance teams had not complied with the necessary procedures in conducting repairs and maintenance.
