Tatas roll out bus, see $1 bn business

Tata Motors, the country's largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, today launched its first complete range of fully built buses, the Globus and Starbus.

Ravi Kant, executive director of the commercial vehcile business unit, said the company's total bus business, chassis and fully built buses, is projected to hit the $1 billion mark in the next few years.

The company's bus business currently accounts for 14 per cent of its commercial vehicle sales turnover.

The growth plan for the bus business includes a substantial increase in both domestic sales as well as exports. The company will export around 2,500 buses in 2004-2005 and has already secured orders for its new range of buses from Bangladesh (500 CNG buses), Senegal (350 buses) and Bahrain (130 buses). It has also signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with African and Latin American countries for the export of buses.

The buses and coaches in the Globus and Starbus range will be priced in the Rs 6.1-Rs 35 lakh range. The new range will target different transport segments, including school buses and upper-end inter-city buses, popularly referred to as the Vovlo bus segment.