Atul Auto scouts land near A'bad

Rajkot-based three-wheeler auto major, Atul Auto Limited is scouting for land outside Rajkot to set up its upcoming four-wheeler light commercial vehicle (LCV) plant.

The company is in talks with the state government to acquire land near Ahmedabad. "It is final that Atul Auto will move to another place for its four-wheeler LCV manufacturing facility. However the place is yet not decided but it will not be in Rajkot. Right now the budgeting for the project is on and the place will be finalised soon," said Vijay Kedia, director, Atul Auto.

The company chairman, Jayanti Chandra had confirmed to the Business Standard that they were interested to start the new project near Ahmedabad.

 

Some time back the company officials had met the state government to discuss the possibility to acquire land near Ahmedabad.

The BSE-listed company is planning to start the production at the upcoming facility by the end of 2012.

"We will start production of LCVs by December 2012. The expected investment in this project is around Rs 150 crore," said Chandra.

The company plans to fund the project through a mix of internal accruals and debt. The BSE-listed company is also looking to collaborate with a foreign entity to enter the four-wheeler market.

The three-wheeler maker has recently entered Bangladesh with the launch of its Atul Gem, a rear-engine model with a six-seater capacity. For this, Atul Auto has tied up with Bangladesh-based Atul Auto Bangladesh (AABL).

The company has roped in Bangladesh Machine Tools Factory (BMTFL) for assembling the vehicles there. The company plans to double its capacity in both the passenger as well as commercial vehicles segments from the current 24,000 units to 48,000 units by 2011.

It also plans to ramp-up its dealership network to 140 from the current 115 by end-this year.