Asia MotorWorks bullish on AP

Launches new tractors, tippers in Andhra market

Mumbai-based Asia MotorWorks Limited, which specialises in the design and manufacture of higher-tonnage vehicles, unveiled its 49-tonne 4923 tractors and 2523 tippers in the Andhra Pradesh market on Friday.

The company has partnered with DRD Trucks India Private Limited, which holds 80 per cent of the total tipper body-building segment of Andhra Pradesh, for marketing its vehicles in the state.

Addressing a press conference on the launch of the company's vehicles here today, Anirudh Bhuwalka, managing director and chief executive of Asia MotorWorks, said, "With rapid industrialisation, sustained GDP growth of 8 per cent and the government's focus on building new highway projects, including the Golden Quadrilateral and the NSEW corridors, we see freight industry poising for a major leap. The domain in which we operate "" the heavy commercial vehicle (HCV) segment "" is expected to be in the excess of 1,75,000 units a year. With Andhra Pradesh contributing nearly 25 per cent to the tipper market, we see a great business potential and would like to tap this business opportunity."

According to RC Mangal, vice-president (marketing), Asia MotorWorks, the company has so far sold 500 of its vehicles in the last six months. "We expect to sell 300 more units across the country by March 2007," he said.

Asia MotorWorks has already sold 8 trucks in Andhra Pradesh, and at present has orders for another 20 trucks. "We should be selling a total of 30 trucks in the state by the end of this month," he said.

The company currently offers 235 horse power vehicles, and is in the process of launching a 300-horse power model in the next six months. Besides, three more models targeting the mining and construction businesses are in the pipeline.

"We have already set up our sales and service operations in Tamil Nadu, Vijayawada and Hyderabad as the southern region is very important market for us. As part of our distribution plan, we also plan to establish warehouses in south and north markets to stock our automobile parts," Mangal said.

The company is planning to set up 151 sales and service outlets across the country, covering all major highways, in the next 12 months. Opening 450 spare parts outlets is also on its agenda.

Asia MotorWorks has its 8,50,000-sq metres manufacturing plant at Bhuj in Gujarat that has a capacity to manufacture 10,000 trucks a year.