Tata Motors to up Sanand output to 2.5 lakh units

Tata Motors today said it will ramp-up capacity at its Sanand (Gujarat) facility, which manufactures Nano, to 2.5 lakh units annually this fiscal.

"We will ramp-up production at our Sanand plant that manufactures the Nano to 20,000 units per month to reach the target of 2,50,000 units annually by this fiscal. We are gradually ramping-up production to meet customer-demand," Tata Motors' Chief Financial Officer C Ramakrishnan told reporters here.

At present the Sanand facility has a capacity to manufacture 2,50,000 units annually, which can be subsequently increased to 5 lakh units per annum.

The auto-major sold 14,779 Nanos in the first quarter of this fiscal. It raised its prices last month by 4 per cent.

The company said it has already hired 270 engineers and will hire 1,000 more. "We plan to hire 1,000 engineers in the future to meet our demand," he said.

The company plans to launch its new Range Rover -- Evoque -- next year. "We will launch more models in the near future -- the Evoque will be launched next year," he said.

Tata Motors posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 1,988.73 crore for the quarter ended June 30 on the back of strong sales of its Jaguar Land Rover. During the same period last fiscal the company had registered a loss of Rs 328.78 crore.

Its consolidated net sales stood at Rs 26,876.08 crore during the quarter as against Rs 16,365.57 crore in the year-ago period.

During the quarter, the Jaguar Land Rover business continued to show strong profitability with an increase in volumes coupled with significantly favourable currency movement, reporting a profit before tax of 233.82 million pounds (Rs 1,590.25 crore).

The company said it would increase prices of its vehicles due to a rise in commodity prices.

"Commodity prices have increased and it has impacted us. We are studying the situation and would take a call (to hike prices) at the right time," Tata Motors' Vice-Chairman Ravi Kant said.

"Commodity prices are a major concern. Steel and rubber prices have gone up," he said.