San Motors Storm To Hit Roads By Oct

Its a steal. Indias first indigenously built sports convertible, which is set to hit the road by October, will carry a price tag of below Rs 5 lakh.

Milind Thakker, managing director of SAN Motors which will manufacture the cars at its Bangalore and Goa plants, told Business Standard that the company expects to produce 1,000 cars consisting of coupe and cabriolet models  by 1999. The company expects production to go up to 3,000 by the turn of the century.

These two models will be followed by a sports utility vehicle, Thakker said. While the indigenisation level is expected to be between 50 per cent and 70 per cent during the initial years, both the engine and the gear box will be sourced from France-based Renault. We will continue to buy the engines and the gear box from Renault, he said. We have received lot of moral support from Renault for our venture.

 

The engine is the same which is used in Renaults Cleo and Tingo models, Thakker said. The cars will be fitted with 60 bhp-powered 1150cc engines which conform to Euro III standards and will weigh between 600 and 650 kgs. The cars are expected to give a mileage of around 16 km per litre. These models also have a unique suspension system, he said.

With an acceleration of 0 to 100 kmph in 11 seconds and a top speed of 160 kmph, the sports car will come with a large boot apart from accessories like AC and a music system.

Thakker said, as an imported convertible costs between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 15 lakh, both the Indian models will have distinct price advantage. There will be no difference in the quality of the models which are available abroad, he said.

While the coupe version will be called Storm, the cabriolet model will be called Streak. While the Bangalore plant will produce and test the rolling chasis, the manufacturing of the body shells and the final assembly will take place at the Goa plant.

Thakker said only around Rs 7 crore had been invested in plant and machinery which will go up to Rs 12 crore once the production goes up. He said the investments were low because only few thousand cars will be manufactured initially. As the engine and gear box will continue to be bought from Renault, the cost of their development will be absent.

Thakker said spares will be available easily as only standard equipment will be used. He said the company was not looking at setting up a separate dealer network for selling the models as the existing dealers were willing to double up as SANs agents.

As there will be no conflict of interest, dealers are not unduly bothered, he said. Initially, the cars will be sold only in certain cities.

Thakker said if excise rules were more relaxed, customers could even get the models custom-made for them. But my target is limited. It is like a luxury item. It is really