For six decades, a single-cylinder diesel engine in Fieldmarshal green has been one of the most recognisable sights on Indian farms — pumping water, grinding grain and powering small machinery in fields far from any service network. This month the Rajkot manufacturer put something genuinely new behind that green paint. Fieldmarshal P.M. Diesels Pvt. Ltd. has launched what it describes as India’s first ARAI-approved TREM V-compliant single-cylinder diesel engines, in 15 HP and 18 HP ratings — bringing the country’s strictest farm-equipment emission standard down to the small-engine category for the first time, the company says.
What the TREM V engines are
The new 15 HP and 18 HP single-cylinder engines are developed primarily for compact tractors and agricultural equipment, according to coverage by The Hindu BusinessLine and Autocar Professional. TREM V — Tractor Emission Stage V — is India’s next-generation emission standard for agricultural machinery, broadly comparable in purpose to BS-VI for road vehicles but under a separate regulatory framework for off-road equipment. Meeting it required type-approval testing by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) covering pollutants including carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter.
The engineering that got the engines there is homegrown: an indigenously developed exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system, and the company has filed multiple national patent applications in India around its TREM V engine technology — a sign this is being treated as platform R&D, not a one-off compliance fix, per ETAuto. The company says the engines combine fuel efficiency, durability and compact engineering for long working hours in demanding field conditions.
Where the engines go
The immediate destination is Fieldmarshal’s own Shridev tractor line. The company currently sells 12 HP, 15 HP and 18 HP Shridev models and is targeting a 10–15% share of the below-20 HP tractor segment over the next three years — a specialised slice that accounts for roughly 3% of India’s overall tractor market at an estimated 40,000–45,000 units a year, per the company. Beyond that, the roadmap is ambitious: tractors up to 30 HP in the near term, and a longer-term R&D plan stretching to 100 HP.
Sixty years of engine-making, and what comes next
Established in 1963, Fieldmarshal says it has engine-manufacturing capacity exceeding 160,000 units a year, and its Shridev tractor facility can produce up to 100 tractors a day. It also has OEM manufacturing relationships with companies including Mahindra & Mahindra, Sonalika, ACE and KAMCO, and its products reach more than 60 countries. The group is simultaneously expanding into clean energy through its Fieldmarshal–Voltuel venture, with plans spanning solar power, lithium-ion storage and battery energy storage systems.
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Whether the TREM V platform scales into that 100 HP roadmap will be the real test. But for now, a 62-year-old engine maker has done something no Indian manufacturer has: certified a single-cylinder diesel engine to the country’s strictest tractor emission standard, with the emission system and the patents to match.
