Ajanta Group’s plan to foray into Rs 1-lakh small car segment in line with Tata Motors’ Nano has come a cropper. The group had planned to produce electric cars, but thanks to rising input costs, the project has been put on the backburner and has decided to concentrate on its e-bikes models.
Ajanta manufactures electric two-wheelers under the brand name of ‘Oreva’. The company had been conducting some research on a possible rollout of an electric four-wheeler, but has now dropped the plans fully. “We had conducted some research on a possible electric car, but we have no plans to launch it. We would now fully concentrate on manufacturing electric two-wheelers and marketing it across the country,” said Jaysukhbhai Patel, director of Ajanta Group.
After Tata’s announcement of the Rs 1-lakh car, automobile players from Rajkot such as the Ajanta Group and Field Marshal Group had also declared similar projects in the electric vehicle segment. Both companies had planned for electric car in the Rs 1-lakh price range.
Ajanta’s electric two-wheeler segment is believed to be doing well in Gujarat. Apart from Gujarat, the company plans to market its electric two-wheelers in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
Ajanta manufactures around 300 Oreva electric bikes a day. It has set up a plant at Samkhiyari in Kutch and is likely to raise the capacity to 1,000 bikes per day in the near future.
“We had imported the electric car from China and modified it to suit Indian conditions before showcasing it in the road show. We do have the technology that can produce such electric cars but we have no such plans. Our target is to do what we are best at and not to give any competition to Tata,” he added.
Ajanta is a well-known name in clock manufacturing. With its base in Morbi, the group has diversified into auto, compact fluoroscent lamps (CFL) and vitrified tiles.
