Sonalika Tractors plans Rs 2 bn R&D unit, aims to double sales in 5 yrs

Sonalika International Tractors on Thursday said it plans to invest Rs 2 billion in setting up a new research and development (R&D) facility in the national capital region (NCR) for various farming solutions.

The company will be hiring over 150 designers and domain experts for the new R&D centre, which is expected to be fully functional in the next two years, a release said.

It already has an R&D facility at its manufacturing plant in Punjab's Hoshiarpur.

The company earlier this month had said it has earmarked Rs 2.5 billion for FY19 to meet requirements in India.

"Sonalika Tractors has set a vision to double its annual sales to two lakh tractors in the next five years (2023-24). In-line with this vision, the company is investing Rs 2 billion in setting up an R&D facility in the NCR region," the release said.

This facility will help to offer innovative farming solutions through technological up-gradation, new emission norms and reducing the product development cycle, it added.

The company had sold over one lakh tractors in the last financial year, out of which around 86,000 were in the domestic market, while the rest were exported.

"This will be a fully functional development centre to produce all aggregates and prototypes, with test facility," said Raman Mittal, executive director, Sonalika Group.

It will work on contemporary and future technology needs to meet the emission and safety norms in global markets, including Europe and the US, he added.