An armoured car is made by replacing the windows of a standard vehicle with bullet-resistant glasses
Rakesh Mahajan, proprietor of Delhi-based NEWS Safety solutions, a vehicle armoury service provider, is eagerly waiting for the ongoing general elections in India to get over.
Mahajan expects a surge in demand for armoured cars from the netas, who purchase it either to show off or due to threat perception.
“The increased demand comes from the newly elected leaders who may like to travel in an armoured car. For some, it is another way to show off their power to the masses while for others it may be due to increased threat perception, real or imagined,” said Mahajan, a veteran of 22 years in the industry.
An armoured car for civilian use is made by replacing the windows of a standard vehicle with bullet resistant glasses and implanting armour plates into the panels. As per the requirement, the car can also have explosion-resistant fuel tank, can ply on flat tyres, etc.
The entire process to convert any ordinary car into an armoured one takes around 30-45 days. However, experts reiterate that the armoured vehicles are ‘bullet-resistant’ and should not be mistaken to be ‘bullet-proof’.
Though the retail vehicle armoury industry largely remains unorganised, insiders expect a demand of 250-300 such cars after the end of election season. Interestingly, most of this demand comes from places like UP, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jammu & Kashmir and even Gadhchiroli in Maharashtra, where the crime rates are much higher than the rest of the nation. According to the manufacturers, the demand starts picking months before the election season begins, but the actual sales materialise only after the end of it.
According to the industry insiders, the armoured vehicles, of course, do not come cheap, and the cost starts from Rs 10 lakh from the unorganised manufacturers. On the other hand, the cost of getting it made from a reputed manufacturer may start from Rs 20-30 lakh and may go up to Rs 6-7 crore, depending upon the requirement and technology used.
Jagdish Chand, proprietor of another Delhi-based company MB Enterprises, claims that though the demand increases in the post-election period, they have to always remain careful about the credentials of the client. Hence, it becomes important to seek character certification of the client from the local police or district magistrate before going ahead with the order. “We just cannot make it for any person with criminal antecedents,” stresses Jagdish.
For some of the bigger players in the industry, though the post election brings some retail orders, it remains insignificant in comparison to their institutional sales for the government departments, including police and para-military forces.
Rushank Doshi, CEO of Chandigarh-based JCBL Armouring Solutions said that his company does not get much into the retail sales as institutional orders itself are high throughout the year.
SECURITY DETAIL
- An armoured car is made by replacing the windows of a standard vehicle with bullet-resistant glasses
- As per the requirement, the car can also have explosion-resistant fuel tank, can ply on flat tyres, etc
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 "Armoured car")
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