Spiralling land prices in and around Ahmedabad seems to have delayed the expansion project of Rajkot-based three wheeler major Atul Auto Limited as the company so far has not been able to acquire land for its proposed four-wheeler light commercial vehicle (LCV) plant near Ahmedabad.
"We had set a target to acquire land by now but we are still looking for suitable land as prices near Ahmedabad are increasing. Our team has been visiting the city to scout for land regularly but we are still not in the process of finalising anything yet.”
He also added, “ The company has set aside a budget Rs 40 crore for land acquisition and we are hopeful to land a deal in the near future," said Vijay Kedia, director, Atul Auto.
The company had announced its plans to enter four wheeler light commercial vehicle (LCV) and launch the LCVs by the end of December 2012.
However company officials said it will not affect its proposed four wheelers Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) project. "The project will be launched in time. We are ready to start operations as soon as we procure land," Kedia added.
The process of expanding production from 24,000 units to 48,000 units is going on and it will be completed shortly, Kedia added.
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Atul Auto also plans to boost its dealership network to 140 from the current 115 by the year-end.
The company also plans to expand capacity at its existing site in Gujarat and is investing Rs 30 crore to ramp up its capacity and is also looking for some collaboration for technical assistance for this expansion.
Atul Auto is one of the leading auto players in Gujarat and key player in the field of three-wheeler vehicle manufacturing nationally.
The company makes diesel as well as CNG variants of three wheeled micro commercial vehicles and has a full-fledged research and development center at Pune in Maharashtra.