LCAT’s orders from Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors and Fiat will be executed during 2008-09 when the LCAT plant is commissioned in Chakan.
MUMBAI: After winning orders from Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors and Fiat, Lumax Cornaglia Auto Technologies (LCAT), the 50:50 joint venture between Lumax Auto Technologies and Cornaglia of Italy, is now eyeing potential customers like Renault, Nissan, Volkswagen and Iveco for its intake and exhaust systems.
“LCAT has tremendous potential given the imperatives of clean air for cars and trucks as well as the increasing pace of dieselisation in India,” Deepak Jain, executive director of the Lumax group (which has in its fold Lumax Industries and Lumax Auto Technologies), told DNA Money.
Turin-based Cornaglia meets the needs of Fiat as well as its commercial vehicle arm, Iveco. “The fact that the Fiat 1.3 multi-jet diesel engine is already being used by Maruti and also planned for Tata-Fiat and General Motors is good news for LCAT,” he added.
Others like VW, Renault and Nissan are also looking at diesel cars in a big way. Renault has joined hands with Nissan and Mahindra & Mahindra, while Nissan recently announced its intent to team up with Ashok Leyland for light commercial vehicles.
Cornaglia also has operations in Poland and Romania which, like India, are low-cost sourcing options. This could even lead to LCAT becoming a critical hub for other markets. For instance, Tata Motors plans to enter the truck market in separate alliances with Fiat and Iveco in South America and could look at LCAT as an inexpensive sourcing avenue.
LCAT’s orders from Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors and Fiat will be executed during 2008-09 when the LCAT plant is commissioned in Chakan.
“The Bajaj mandate is for the company’s new light commercial vehicle project being commissioned in Chakan near Pune,” Jain said. In the case of Tata Motors, the LCAT order is meant for the new Indica. Fiat, which has joined hands with the Tatas, will bring in the Grande Punto and Linea from a new plant at Ranjangaon near Pune.
With these orders sewn up, LCAT would generate business worth Rs 100 crore by 2010 with volumes of around 350,000 systems. Lumax and Cornaglia have invested Rs 50 crore for this joint venture.
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