Chennai, Jan 17 (IANS): Opening the way to cars without a handbrake lever, automobile brakes major Brakes India Private Ltd has developed a motor on drum brake that frees up the cabin space occupied by the lever, said a top company official.

Managing Director Sriram Viji also said the company is actively working with customers on new product development, including on EVs to provide light weighting and noise-free braking.

Brakes India unveiled the motor on drum brake at the AutoExpo.

"With little change to the vehicle, the motor on drum brake provides hill hold, drive away assist, door open hold and also frees up the cabin by removing the tedious hand brake lever - potentially a big benefit in small cars," Viji said.

"Aligning with the Aatmanirbhar Bharat campaign for making India a self-reliant nation, a team of engineers at Brakes India designed the software of motor on drum brakes in the home country. Right from the proto stage, all the activities like testing, development and manufacturing are in-house and a first in India," President & Head, Light Vehicles Business, K. Vasudevan said.

"The product strengthens our footprint in the electric vehicle segment, for both domestic and international and has been validated in line with global braking norms. The design is compact and robust, and we are seeing tremendous interest from the market," he added.