With the domestic passenger vehicle sales no where near expectation, India’s largest automaker (by revenue) is looking at the untapped potential of its commercial vehicle division in international markets like Africa and Asia to spur overall growth. ET Now reports that Tata Motors is planning to set up three new overseas assembly plants for light and medium commercial vehicles, one each in Nigeria, Mauritius and Vietnam.
The actions in this regard could be initiated before the end of this year. The company is said to spend around INR 120-150 cr to expand its overseas production presence. This plan will also include assembling the Tata Prima range of mid-premium global heavy duty trucks in South Africa. The automaker operates a SKD (Semi Knocked Down) CV assembly plant at Rosslyn in the suburb of Pretoria.
Tata Motors overseas assembly plants will help the company make inroads in the respective markets. Also, the Prima range would be assembled in South Africa.While a Tata spokesperson declined to comment on the possibilities of three new assembly plants, the possibility of assembling Tata Prima in South Africa has been confirmed. The overseas assembly plants strategy is inline with the automaker’s target of 30% of export growth in the commercial vehicle division.
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The global commercial vehicle market is far from its peak performance but the firm is positive about reaching its targets for the year. The overseas assembly plants would go a long way is working around the local tax structures and penetrating the market as a relatively less known brand in the region. Also presence in Nigeria, Mauritius and Vietnam would help the company to take advantage of low labor costs.
Via – Economictimes.com
