Atul Auto to start LCV production by Dec 2012

Scouting for a foreign partner for technical collaboration in the project

Rajkot-based three-wheeler major Atul Auto Limited is now all set to enter four wheeler light commercial vehicle (LCV). The company plans to launch the LCVs by the end of December 2012.

It is also scouting for a foreign partner for technical collaboration in the LCV project. “We will start production of LCVs by December 2012. The expected investment in this project is around Rs 150 crore”, said Jayanti Chandra, chairman and managing director of Atul Auto. It will be funded through internal accruals as well as debt.

Atul Auto had earlier decided to set up a new plant down south, but has now revised its plans. The production unit for LCV will be set up in Rajkot that will have a capacity of 30,000 units per year. In the first phase, the company will produce around 3,000 units which would be eventually scaled up to 50,000 units per annum within the next two years.

Atul Auto's director Vijay Kedia said, “We are presently talking with various companies from China, Japan and Korea for technical collaboration which will help us manufacture the LCVs. The talks, however, are in initial stages.” The collaboration process will be finalised within six months, Kedia said.

Meanwhile, the company plans to expand capacity at its existing site in Gujarat and is investing Rs 30 crore to ramp up its capacity.

The process of expanding production from 24,000 units to 48,000 units is going on and it will be completed shortly, Kedia added. Atul Auto also plans to boost its dealership network to 140 from the current 115 by the year-end.

Atul Auto is one of the leading auto players in Gujarat and key player in the field of three-wheeler vehicle manufacturing nationally.

It makes diesel as well as CNG variants of three wheeled micro commercial vehicles. The company also has a full-fledged R&D center at Pune in the state of Maharashtra.