Hm May Make Isuzu Panther Engines
General Motors India is close to tying up with the Chandrakant Birla-controlled Hindustan Motors for manufacturing engines for its multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) Isuzu Panther. The engines are likely to be manufactured under license at one of Hindustan Motors' manufacturing plants in India.
While sources close to General Motors have confirmed the development, B K Chaturvedi, president of Hindustan Motors, declined to either confirm or deny it.
The Panther, which will be General Motors' first non-Opel brand in India, is currently undergoing field tests in the country, and is slated for launch in a few months time.
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The vehicle will be powered by a 2.5-litre turbo-charged diesel engine, and will compete with the Toyota Qualis and the Mahindra Scorpio.
The tie up with General Motors will add another feather to Hindustan Motors' cap, and significantly improve its finances. Hindustan Motors had on Wednesday announced a cash profit of around Rs 9.55 crore for the first quarter of 2002-03, with a significantly improved financial position over the same quarter last year.
Industry analysts said the development could further improve Hindustan Motors' capacity and surplus manpower utilisation.
General Motors' interest in tying up with Hindustan Motors may have stemmed from the fact that the latter has been producing the Isuzu 1.8-litre diesel engine for its popular Ambassador model for a long time now. Hindustan Motors also offers an Isuzu diesel engine option for its rural transport vehicle (RTV).
"Hindustan Motors will definitely be able to produce the engines at a lower cost than General Motors could have ever managed, given its existing vendor base in the country," auto industry sources said.
Hindustan Motors already has a license agreement with Ford India to manufacture engines for its mid-sized offering Ikon.
It also has another pact in place with Mitsubishi Motor Corporation, Japan, to produce and market the upper mid-sized car Lancer in India.