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Nano Likely To Roll Out From Pantnagar Plant

RTTNews) -  Amidst speculations that Tata Motors is moving out from Singur, reports say that Nano is likely to roll out from Pantnagar plant.

It is possible that Tata Motors announces pulling out Nano plant from Singur officially after the return of its Managing Director, Ravi Kant's who is on an overseas trip, the Economic Times reported Thursday. The West Bengal State Industry Minister, Nirupam Sen told state Cabinet that the Singur project is not likely to take off.

A team from Tata Motors is expected to meet top officials of Uttarakhand government to press for 100-acre plot adjacent to its existing unit in Pantnagar. Tata is planning to acquire about 1,100 acres of land to re-equip the Pantnagar complex to manufacture both Ace pick-up truck as well as Nano.

Uttarakhand government was one of the first in inviting Tatas to relocate the Nano plant to the state when work suspended at Singur on August 29. The governments of Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Gujarat also invited the Tatas to relocate the Nano plant in their states.

Tata circles reportedly said the "prime enablers" in rolling out Nano from Pantnagar are the huge tax incentives the state offers. This may help Tata maintain its price of Rs.1 lakh. The Uttarakhand government offers 100% excise duty exemption for 10 years, 100% exemption from corporate I-T for the first five years and 30% exemption in the next five years.

Meanwhile, the report said Uttarakhand Industrial Development Principal Secretary, P.C.Sharma told that Pantnagar plant has the requisite space to manufacture Nano. He also hinted on offering about 100 acres of land to the company. Issues like lease rental, labour and environmental concerns are expected to be discussed with the company.

by RTT Staff Writer

Lohia Group forays into auto sector; launches e-bikes
New Delhi (PTI): Diversified business house Lohia Group today announced its foray into automobile sector with launch of two electric bikes, both priced at Rs 31,000 (ex-showroom, Delhi), thus expanding the fleet of eco-friendly vehicles in the country.

The company is also planning to launch electric three-wheeler in the next three to four months even as it gears up to introduce three more two-wheeler models in 2009.

"High fuel prices, degrading environment and depleting fossil fuel resources are major concerns for the society. These eco-friendly electric vehicles are developed keeping in mind these aspects and we have priced it in such a way that common people can also afford it," Lohia Auto Industries (LAI) Chief Executive Officer Ayush Lohia told reporters here.

The prices of the two models -- Oma and Fame -- were kept same and it was before the tax rebate being offered by the Delhi government, he added.

LAI, part of the Rs 500 crore Lohia Group , has set up a 30-acre greenfield manufacturing facility at Kashipur in Uttarakhand with an installed capacity of two lakh units per annum. For future capacity expansions, it would set up a new plant in the same campus.

The company aims to sell 20,000 units in this fiscal, which it hopes to increase to one lakh units during 2009-10, Lohia said.

The company targets to export about 20,000 units to some neighbouring countries, he said, adding "We are on the verge of finalising dealers in two Asian countries".

Minda launches the 4 wheeler variant of its battery brand 'Vroom'Minda Industries, the flagship company of Rs. 1000 crore NK Minda Group, has now introduced the 4 wheeler variant of its automotive battery brand 'Vroom' in the market. This is the second phase of the launch wherein batteries for four-wheelers have been introduced across India. The 2-wheeler batteries are already available across the country and have already captured close to 5 per cent of the OEM market share. The batteries aim to cater to the growing demand of quality batteries both from OEM's as well as the Replacement Market. 'Vroom' is rolled out from its ultra-modern, cutting-edge technology plant set up by the company at Pantnagar, Uttarakhand. The Greenfield plant has been set up with an investment of Rs.40 crore. The batteries are being produced in technical collaboration with the European leader in batteries FIAMM S.p.A of Italy. Vroom is aggressively targeting the after market for sales and hopes to achieve major share of revenue for batteries from the replacement market. Vroom 4 wheeler batteries have been launched with three main variants - Vroom 48 with 48 months of warranty, Vroom 36 with 36 months of warranty and Vroom 24 with 24 months of warranty, depending upon the model and the type. MIL already has RFQ's from Maruti & Tata Motors for the 4 wheeler batteries and hope to begin the commercial supply to the OEM's shortly.

The batteries are available across the country through the after sales and service arm of the Minda Group, Minda Auto Care Limited. There are already over 300 distributors covering the length and breadth of the country that are stocking and distributing the batteries.

Vroom 48, which has 20 per cent additional starting power, has the increased number of plates which gives access to more surface for ionic exchange. It has sufficient amount of energy reserve which is the pre requisite for all the modern cars which comes with latest technology. The salient features include the rapid energy recovery with tough driving conditions. It is available in two capacities, 32 Ah and 35 Ah. Vroom 48 with 32 Ah is available for Rs. 4060 and Vroom 48 with 35 Ah is available for Rs. 4,475. Vroom 36 months comes in two capacities of 32 Ah and 35 Ah in the price range of Rs 3280and Rs.3620 respectively. Vroom 24 is available in four different capacities. 32 Ah is available for Rs 2840, 35 Ah is available for Rs. 3150, 50 Ah is available for Rs 4700 and the highest capacity 60 Ah is available at Rs. 4,895.

"Our 2 wheeler batteries have received wide acceptance and we have recently rolled out the 5th lakh battery from our Pantnagar facility. We are hopeful that the 4 wheeler battery will be as well received as our 2 wheeler battery. With Minda, you can be assured of quality and this is what our customers are realising by converting to Minda batteries in large numbers", says NK Minda, Chairman & Managing Director, Minda Industries Limited.

Minda Industries Limited (MIL) designs, develops and manufactures switches for 2/3 wheelers and off-road vehicles. It also manufactures lighting and batteries for automobiles (2/3 & 4 wheelers). MIL has also entered into blow moulding for which it is setting up a plant at Bidadi near Bangalore in Karnataka, in technical Agreement with Kyoraku of Japan. MIL is a Rs. 3961 million (US$ 95 million) company and is on a rapid expansion spree. It is geared to take on global competition and is spreading its wings into the ASEAN market where it has already established itself. It is on its way to becoming the favoured vendor for 2/3 wheeler switches and Lighting globally.

Minda Industries has its manufacturing plants in Manesar, Baddi, Pune, Aurangabad, Pantnagar and Bidadi and has over 2800 employees. NK Minda Group also has a manufacturing facility in Indonesia, looking after the ASEAN market.