Atul Auto's new facility near A'bad to produce 60,000 units per annum

The project's total investment would be about Rs 150 cr and the fund will be managed through internal sources

Rajkot-based three wheeler manufacturer Atul Auto Limited is setting up a new production unit near Ahmedabad in Gujarat. The company, which already has a manufacturing facility in Rajkot, recently acquired about 34 acres land for its facility in Ahmedabad.

"Since last one year, we were looking for land for the expansion of the company. Now, we have identified and acquired land, some 50 km from Ahmedabad. The production capacity of new plant will be about 60,000 units per annum," said Jitendra Adhia, vice-president-finance, Atul Auto Limited.

The project's total investment would be about Rs 150 crore and the fund will be managed through internal sources. Presently, a company official said legal formalities for acquiring land are going on and the company plans to begin work on setting up the plant from January 2015.

Adhia said, "Our aim is to complete this project by the end of March 2017. The new unit will produce petrol model also, a new segment for us. Presently, we are involved in production of diesel model only and enjoy about 13 per cent market share in it."

The company had doubled its manufacturing capacity at its Rajkot plant from 24,000 units to 48,000 units in April last year with an investment of Rs 50 crore.

After the new plant starts its operations, the three wheeler manufacturer will expand its footprints in East and South Indian markets.

Adhia said, "We aim to explore urban areas in domestic and overseas market with our petrol model. We will expand our network in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu."

For the financial year 2013-14, Atul Auto's net profit rose by 15 per cent to Rs 29.80 crore from Rs 25.93 crore in 2012-13. The sales revenue surged to Rs 429.26 crore in 2013-14 as against Rs 362.86 crore in FY 2012-13, posting growth of 18.30 per cent. The company sold 37,557 vehicles during in 2013-14, compared to 32,040 vehicles in 2012-13, registering growth of 17.22 per cent.