Force Motors plans Rs 600-crore capex to develop two new models

Force Motors, which is the market leader in inter-city commuter vans, plans to invest Rs 600 crore (US$ 85.85 million) in order to develop two new models over the next two years.

By the end of the year, company plans to launch these proposed new models in the shared mobility space from its soon-to-be-launched premium platform, under the code-name T1N, which is an export-focused premium van developed with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore (US$ 143.08 million).

"We have lined up Rs 600 crore (US$ 85.85 million) in fresh capital investment to develop two new models for the next two years. These new vehicles will come out from our next generation monocoque platform coming up at our Pithampur, Indore, works for T1N," said Mr Prasan Firodia, managing director, Force Motors.

The company is the largest van maker in the country with a market share of over 68 per cent, last week, introduced the van 'T1N', which will be mostly exported.

The BS VI-compliant vehicle will also be available in electric and CNG versions and has been developed over the past four years at an investment of Rs 1,000 crore (US$ 143.08 million).

The company is developing an entirely new body shop with robotic and laser-welding facilities having an installed capacity of 35,000 units for T1N. The van is an 18-seater van that boasts 25 industry-first features.

Mr Firodia said that this new premium van will be export-focused and the Firodias, who were the pioneers of autorickshaws in the 1950s, will begin shipping the van to the Gulf markets first followed by North Africa, South Africa, the ASEAN, South America and the SAARC regions.

The company want to utilise this van to be the springboard to become a global automotive company, said Firodia on the rationale for launching a premium commuter van.

Force Motors, which is the Pune-based company, selling two commuter vans Trax and Traveller, nets almost 50 per cent of its income from its engine supply business with Mercedes and BMW now. The company has also agreed with Rolls Royce to supply engines.

In the quarter to September, Force had reported an 84 per cent drop in net income to Rs 4.2 crore (US$ 0.60 million) on a revenue of Rs 818 crore (US$ 117.04 million), which was down 5.6 per cent.

The company's association with Mercedes dates to 1997 when Daimler AG decided to manufacture Mercs in the country. Till now, it has supplied over 1,15,000 engines to Mercedes Benz India from its state-of-the-art dedicated facility at Chakan near Pune.

Likewise, in 2015, Force was given assignment by BMW to produce and test the engines for all cars and SUVs to be made in the country. Thus, according to the need, it developed a dedicated factory closer to the BMW plant in Chennai and has supplied over 45,000 engines to the German luxury car maker.

Force Motors entered in a joint venture (JV) with Rolls-Royce Power Systems AG in March 2018, to manufacture and supply worldwide, the 10- and 12-cylinder, series 1,600 engines for power generation and under-floor rail applications. The JV is scheduled to take off from April.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.