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Tata Motors Plans to Sell Another Light Truck Model
Tata Motors Ltd., India's largest automaker by sales, said Friday it plans to introduce another light truck, smaller than its sub-one-ton Ace model, to capitalize on demand for the vehicle.
"There has been some demand for a product in that category and we are looking at developing one such model," P.M. Telang, managing director for Tata Motors' India operations, told reporters on the sidelines of an industry conference.
The Ace, one of the highest-selling vehicles of Tata Motors, was first introduced in 2005 to compete with three-wheeled goods-carrying vehicles from Bajaj Auto Ltd., Piaggio and Mahindra & Mahindra.
Light truck sales in India have been less affected by the economic downturn than those of heavier vehicles, with medium and heavy truck sales sliding 32% during April-July 2009 to 44,774 units, while those of light trucks rose 20% to 66,421 units.
Tata Motors currently makes 15,000 Ace vehicles per day at a factory in Pantnagar in the northern state of Uttarakhand, Mr. Telang said.
He added that the automaker - which controls U.K.-based Jaguar and Land Rover - is witnessing faster growth in car sales compared to trucks and plans to introduce an upgraded variant of its Indigo sedan by December.
Mr. Telang said, however, that sales of medium and heavy trucks returned to last year's levels in July.
"We are hopeful that by the end of this year, we will register some growth in this segment as well," Mr. Telang said.
He said weak monsoon rains are expected to hit the company's vehicle sales this year.
"If monsoons were good this year, I would have expected a good sales growth, but now we are cautiously optimistic as certain sectors like steel and cement have started picking up," he said.
India's monsoon rains were 29% below the 50-year average during the June 1 to Aug. 11 period, a meteorological department official said last week.
Mr. Telang said a dedicated facility for the Nano minicar at Sanand in western Gujarat state is on schedule and trial production is likely to start in January-February.
The company currently produces up to 125 Nano minicars - the world's cheapest car - per day at its Pantnagar factory.
"We will take 10 months from January to fully ramp up the (Sanand) factory," he said.
Tata Motors shifted operations to Sanand after abandoning a planned site last October at Singur, in the eastern state of West Bengal, following violent protests over the acquisition of disputed farmland.
Tata Motors plans to reach an annual manufacturing capacity of 250,000 Nano cars at the Sanand factory. The company's chairman Ratan Tata said Tuesday that capacity will eventually be increased to 350,000 cars.
"There has been some demand for a product in that category and we are looking at developing one such model," P.M. Telang, managing director for Tata Motors' India operations, told reporters on the sidelines of an industry conference.
The Ace, one of the highest-selling vehicles of Tata Motors, was first introduced in 2005 to compete with three-wheeled goods-carrying vehicles from Bajaj Auto Ltd., Piaggio and Mahindra & Mahindra.
Light truck sales in India have been less affected by the economic downturn than those of heavier vehicles, with medium and heavy truck sales sliding 32% during April-July 2009 to 44,774 units, while those of light trucks rose 20% to 66,421 units.
Tata Motors currently makes 15,000 Ace vehicles per day at a factory in Pantnagar in the northern state of Uttarakhand, Mr. Telang said.
He added that the automaker - which controls U.K.-based Jaguar and Land Rover - is witnessing faster growth in car sales compared to trucks and plans to introduce an upgraded variant of its Indigo sedan by December.
Mr. Telang said, however, that sales of medium and heavy trucks returned to last year's levels in July.
"We are hopeful that by the end of this year, we will register some growth in this segment as well," Mr. Telang said.
He said weak monsoon rains are expected to hit the company's vehicle sales this year.
"If monsoons were good this year, I would have expected a good sales growth, but now we are cautiously optimistic as certain sectors like steel and cement have started picking up," he said.
India's monsoon rains were 29% below the 50-year average during the June 1 to Aug. 11 period, a meteorological department official said last week.
Mr. Telang said a dedicated facility for the Nano minicar at Sanand in western Gujarat state is on schedule and trial production is likely to start in January-February.
The company currently produces up to 125 Nano minicars - the world's cheapest car - per day at its Pantnagar factory.
"We will take 10 months from January to fully ramp up the (Sanand) factory," he said.
Tata Motors shifted operations to Sanand after abandoning a planned site last October at Singur, in the eastern state of West Bengal, following violent protests over the acquisition of disputed farmland.
Tata Motors plans to reach an annual manufacturing capacity of 250,000 Nano cars at the Sanand factory. The company's chairman Ratan Tata said Tuesday that capacity will eventually be increased to 350,000 cars.
11:23 PM
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