Force Motors eyes rural market for SUV

The automobile manufacturer is looking 50:50 proportion for rural and urban market

Pune based automobile manufacturer Force Motors today launched the EX and SX variants of the One SUV. The base model of EX IS  priced at  Rs 8.99 lakh and SX priced at Rs 11.70 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The EX variant gets the 2.6-litre, BSIII compliant, diesel engine  while  SX is powered  by BS IV turbocharged 2.2-litre engine Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) and Electronic Brake force Distribution (EBD).

With this,  Force Motors is eyeing rural India market of SUVs and push these models in Tier-III cities of India. It is looking 50:50  proportion for rural and urban market.

In the last financial year 2012-13, Force Motors has sold 2600 units of One  and looking to sell over 5000 units in the financial year 2013-14.

The One is manufactured at its Pithampur plant in Madhya Pradesh with a annual capacity of 12000 units per year. 

Speaking on this, Prasan Firodia, managing director, Force Motors said, " With these two new models,  our effort  is to tap into the rural SUV market. This market has a great potential .Urban market is mostly dominated by compact SUVs. Next month, we are also coming up with new four wheel drive LX variant of the One with additional features like ABS and EBD. Again, this SUV may help to improve its urban market reach. We are targeting larger audience with these launches."

He added, "No other vehicle in this class offers so much space and ride comfort at such an attractive price point. With introduction of SX and EX, Force One will cater to needs of the discerning SUV buyers who are looking for an impressive, spacious and comfortable vehicle."

As of now, Force Motors does not have any plan to launch compact SUV model, said Firodia. The company has 25 dealers across India and will expand the network upto 50 by end of next financial year. 

The One competes directly with Mahindra's XUV 500 W8 AWD variant.