It seems the Sun has finally set for Maruti Gypsy in the country's defence sector, where it occupied an iconic position for more than two decades with around 35,000 vehicles plying across the battle front and civilian stations.
Tata Motors on Thursday announced that it has signed a contract for supplying 3192 units of Tata Safari Storme 4X4 vehicles under a new category of vehicles-GS800 (General Service 800).
The deal was first confirmed towards the end of last year by the company officials. The vehicle will replace the Maruti Gypsy which has been in the service since around 1991.
Tata Motors bagged the contract after the race with Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M).
The deal is said to worth over Rs 375 crore. The development comes after Tata Motors earlier got a Rs 1,350 crore order for Tata High Mobility vehicle 6x6, replacing Tatra in the 10-tonne class.
Vernon Noronha, vice-president, defence & government business, Tata Motors, said, "This variant of the Storme has been modified from the one available for civilians with an upgraded drivetrain and significantly modified suspension. We will shortly commence delivery of these vehicles for the Army and Navy in a phased manner." Additionally, Tata Motors has supplied over 1,50,000 vehicles to the Indian military and paramilitary forces so far in the last 70 years.
Safari Storme was first introduced in the market in 2012 and was pitched against Mahindra Scorpio and the Renault Duster AWD.
The development comes as a breather for the Indian companies who have been eagerly awaiting orders from the defence sector after the present government backed indigenously built equipment instead of depending upon foreign suppliers.
However, experts said the pace has been very slow and as a result, the companies are hesitant in developing infrastructure for it, till they see hope in getting the orders.
"One of the reasons is that the purchaser is just one -- defence establishment. So until there are no orders in place it makes no sense to make a large investment for the order," said a senior executive from one of the top Indian company with interest in the sector.
The slow pace can be gauged from the long wait in awarding of over Rs 60,000 crore, Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicle (FICV) project, which was approved in 2009. An FICV is an armoured vehicle that protects soldiers from the assault of small arms fire in the battlefield. It can also be laced with automatic grenade launchers, machine guns and other assault measures.
Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Larsen & Toubro, Bharat Forge and Reliance Defence are some of the Indian companies which are in the fray for the order.
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