Atul Auto, the Gujarat-based three-wheeler maker, is looking for a partner to foray into the four-wheeled small commercial vehicle segment.
Vijay Kedia, director, Atul Auto, said the company is in talks with a few companies and would finalise a partner very soon, without giving details on the potential partners.
Atul Auto is looking to get into the four-wheeled sub-one tonne small truck segment, where players like Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra already have established products in the market.
The company is scouting for land, either in Gujarat or Maharashtra, to set up a separate unit for manufacturing the product.
“We have a four-wheeler project in mind. However, the plan got delayed due to rise in land prices and high interest rates. We will soon work on the plan again,” said Kedia.
The company may look at an investment of around Rs200 crore to set up the plant.
A final decision on the venture would be taken after April this year as the company is busy doubling its three-wheeler capacity at Rajkot, Gujarat, plant to 48,000 units per annum. It has already spent Rs 60 crore on the expansion.
Atul Auto currently has 5.5% share in the three-wheeler market, where Bajaj Auto and Piaggio are dominant players.
The company’s focus still remains on the non-metro cities that have demand for larger-sized three-wheelers accommodating more than three passengers.
It aims to achieve a market share of 9% in the three-wheeler segment by 2013-14. For this, it plans to ramp up capacity to 100,000 units annually and may invest Rs 60 crore more.
Exports, too, will be one of the key focus areas with countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Kenya showing potential.
For the first nine months of the current fiscal, the company’s sales rose 45% at 19,543 units over 13,477 units sold in the same period of the last fiscal.
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