Bajaj Auto Ltd’s four-wheeler project, a joint venture with Nissan and Renault, at Chakan in Pune seems to have hit a roadblock, as the company has not been able to acquire enough land.
Bajaj had plans to launch the vehicle in 2012. If the land acquisition does not happen, Bajaj may move the project out of Pune.
“We are planning to roll out our four-wheeler in 2012. Chakan has been chosen for the plant. But, we are facing some problems in acquiring land at the proposed sight,” said Rajiv Bajaj, managing director, Bajaj Auto Ltd. He was speaking to reporters at the launch of Bajaj’s new three-wheeler, RE145D.
“We have 250 acres and are still short of 100 acres. Also, our other plants are operational at Aurangabad and Pantnagar
(Uttarakhand). We have enough land in Aurangabad. But we will look for an alternative, if none of these locations works out.”
Bajaj also said the company was targeting production of 4,00,000 vehicles a month in this calendar year. Bajaj manufactures 3,50,000 vehicles a month, including 300,000 motorcycles and 50,000 three-wheelers.
Also, it would stick to its models like Discover, a commuter’s vehicle, Pulsar, a sports motorbike and RE, a three-wheeler passenger vehicle, rather than a Bajaj brand.
The company, which exported 1,58,000 vehicles last year to Egypt, Peru, Tanzania and other African countries, expects a 15 per cent growth in exports.
Bajaj is also increasing its research and development expenditure. The company plans to spend Rs 50 crore on R&D this year. It has 650 engineers in its R&D division at Pune.
Bajaj said, “We are planning to launch five platforms for our commercial vehicles. Out of which, three are operational. Two will get operational in this quarter. There will be a brand new platform for four-wheeler.”
