I N D I A ’ S N O . 1 M A G A Z I N E F O R A U T O M O T I V E N E W S , V I E W S & A N A LY S I S
Auto Monitor Vol. 12 No. 7
w w w.amonl ine.in
9 April 2012
32 Pages
FOCUS
INTERVIEW ONTARIO LOOKS FOR STRONGER TIES WITH INDIA Aaron Rosland, Counselor and Head, Ontario Pg 8 International Marketing Centre, India
` 50
AUTOPINION
MACHINING
BUDGET 2012: WILL IT ACCELERATE OR PUT A BREAK ON GROWTH?
Pg 10-13
Pg 14
Maini to shift Tomcar plant to B’lore
NEWS IN BRIEF Pricol partners with Johnson Controls
Nabeel A Khan New Delhi
Bhargav TS Chennai
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oimbatore-based automotive instrument cluster manufacturer, Pricol Limited has tiedup with the Indian arm of the global automotive major Johnson Controls, to set-up a joint venture for Indian automotive market. Johnson Controls is in to manufacturing seats, overhead systems, doors, instrument panels, interior and electronics. The 50:50 joint venture will be under the name of ‘Johnson Controls Pricol Private Limited’. The JV will use Pricol’s Pune manufacturing plant as its base and it will develop and manufacture instrument clusters, displays and body electronics for both car and motorcycle manufacturers in India. Both the fi rms will draw synergies from each other’s strengths by leveraging Pricol’s Indian experience and Johnson Control’s industry leading human machine interaction design and implementation expertise, along with product capabilities. The facility will be enhanced to serve global customers through a cost-competitive value chain. According to the Chairman of Pricol, Vijay Mohan, Johnson Controls brings their product development capabilities, global purchasing relationships and access to global customer relationships to this JV.
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angalore-based material handling equipment manufacturer, Maini Group has recently acquired the majority stake in Israeli ATV manufacturing company, Tomcar for an undisclosed amount. The company is shifting its manufacturing unit from Israel to Bangalore to avail the cost benefits offered here. Maini Group did not disclose the percentage of share it has acquired because of the non-disclosure agreement, but according to sources close to the development, it is between 65 and 70 percent. The management will remain in the hands of the original promoters. Tomcar is engaged in design and manufacturing of high performance off-road vehicles. “We will set-up a new plant in Bangalore by the end of this year. The shift of manufacturing plant here is mainly because of the availability of talents and other facilities at lower cost when compared to Israel. We will also focus on the Indian market starting with the defence sector.” Chief Executive Office, Maini Group, SA Mohan told Auto Monitor. The new plant will have an initial capacity of producing around 1,000 cars a year and the Israel plant will be converted into a technical design
centre. The company is strategising to get maximum benefit of the deal, as it gets established markets for the product in the US, Europe and Australia. W hile low-cost manufacturing facility from India will give it the competitive edge over competition apart from the opportunity being opened here with Indian government allowing pr ivate players in t he defence sector. Maini Group was also the promoter of electric car Reva, now acquired by Mahindra & Mahindra. The company recently launched Tomcar vehicles in India. The vehicles launched dur-
ing the Defexpo 2012 in Delhi was a military grade, high-performance all terrain vehicle originally designed for military and border patrol use is virtually an indestructible vehicle. “We are happy to launch the Tomcar in India. With the Indian defence, paramilitary and homeland security scouting aggressively for all terrain vehicles, we intend to promote Tomcar amongst them as part of their modernisation drive.” Maini added. Tomcar all-terrain vehicles feature a robust, fully-welded steel tube chassis and heav y dut y four-wheel independ-
ent suspension. These vehicles are designed to be safe, rugged a nd dependable. The company will now be exporting vehicles from its Bangalore plant to all the existing and new foreign markets. The Maini Group is engaged in high precision engineering products for the last four decades and has a strong presence in diverse industry segments. Core capabilities of Maini group include high precision components for aerospace and automotive applications, material handling equipment, electric buggies for people and cargo movement, storage and shelving systems and plastics & composites. The group has clocked a turnover of `500 crore in FY11 and hopes to touch `600 crore this financial year. With the new venture, it expects to clock total revenue of `2,000 crore in the next three years. Tomcar is deployed by the Israeli military, the US Customs & Border Patrol and the British Army in Afghanistan. Tomcar has been customised for the military and border forces to carry heavy machine gun, antitank guided missile launcher, automatic grenade launcher with a winch for self-recovery. It has an option of being customised for both, armoured and unmanned versions. The vehicle is also air transportable and para-droppable.
Polaris eyes business with defence, paramilitary
DATA MONITOR Top 5 3W makers Company
Feb-11
Feb-12
Change
BAL
19,296
17,131
-11.22%
Piaggio
18,742
14,486
-22.71%
M&M
5,725
5,111
-10.72%
Atul Auto
1,892
2,511
32.72%
SIL
1,369
1,698
24.03%
Top 5 3W-Exporters Company
Feb-11
Feb-12
Change
BAL
20,921
24,685
17.99%
Piaggio
1,649
1,942
17.77% -25.49%
TVS
2,362
1,760
M&M
167
32
-80.84%
Atul Auto
16
-
-
* Source: SIAM/ ** Excluding exports/ *** all sub segments considered/ ^ excluding MRPL
Shambhavi Anand New Delhi
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olaris India Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of US manufacturer of off-road and all terrain vehicles, is in dialogue with Indian defence forces for supplying vehicles. Some allied forces and paramilitary forces are even testing their vehicles to assess their suitability of usage. “We are suppliers to the defence forces of several countries. Though we are not doing any business with the Indian defence forces currently, we hope to do so in future. We are currently in dialogue with
s ome a l l ie d forces and paramilitary forces,” Managing Director, Polaris Ind ia, Pa n kaj Dubey told Auto Monitor on the sidelines of the recently concluded Defexpo 2012. The company is also in conversation with the forest department. “We have received a tremendous response from the Indian market. And we may also consider settingup a facility here, though it is too soon to furnish further details,” he added. In the four months
of operation in the Indian market, the company claims to have achieved its internal targets. At the Defexpo 2012, it showcased Ranger RZR SW and Sportsman MV 850. The Ranger is a two-passenger LTATV with features suited specifically for tactical operations. It has an 800
cc high output twin four stroke petrol engine. It has 454 kg of payload capacity and four wheel independent suspensions. The MV 850 is militarised ATVs, equipped for demanding operations with 850 cc, 77 HP four stroke SOHC twin-cylinder petrol engine with a fuel capacity of 44.5 litre and a towing capacity of 680.4 kg. It comes with electronic power steering. Polaris’s other offerings for the military and security forces are light mobility vehicles to conduct operations such as patrolling, recce and surveillance, law & order, perimeter security, casualty evacuation, search & rescue and training among others.