Fieldmarshal to foray into electric cars, 3-wheelers

Having launched its CNG rickshaws in Gujarat, Rajkot-based P M Diesels (FieldMarshal Group) is now planning a foray into battery-operated three-wheeler and four-wheeler electric vehicles.

The company is known to have finalised a tie-up with Farnow Technologies, a technology development and project development firm based in Australia.

Under the terms of the deal, Fieldmarshal will manufacture an electric three-wheeler of 350 kg capacity with seating for three passengers and a small electric car in technical collaboration with Farnow.

The specifications of both vehicles are still being worked out but a company official said the three-wheeler could be priced around Rs 140,000 while the small car is being priced close to Rs 175,000. The four-wheeler could have a maximum speed of 70-80 km.

For vehicle batteries, the company plans to set up battery exchange centres every 5 kms in whichever city the products are launched. Instead of having to re-charge the battery, vehicles would be installed with already-charged batteries everytime, which would take 30 seconds and could be operated with a smart card, said the official.

Work on the vehicle's prototypes are underway and the company is expected to launch the vehicles in a year and half following Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI)'s approvals.

At present, the Fieldmarshal group manufactures diesel, petrol and LPG autorickshaws at its new facility at Shapar near Rajkot. It has a manufacturing capacity of 1,000 rickshaws per month and rolls out 450 vehicles per month.

It has exported 1,500 vehicles in the last six months whereas petrol rickshaws have been dispatched to Egypt, Sudan and Nigeria while diesel vehicles have been exported to Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia. The company expects exports to form 40 per cent of its revenues in the next two years.

"The market for three-wheelers in India has grown to a 500,000 unit market per annum of which over a lakh of vehicles are exported. In the next one year, we hope to garner a 10-15 per cent share in the CNG rickshaw market in Gujarat," said S S Joglekar, director, Fieldmarshal Group. To be sold under the brand name 'Pal CNG Rickshaw', the vehicle is priced at Rs 130,000 and has a 5-passenger plus one seating capacity and will be sold in collaboration with Panchnath Auto of Shapar.