Tata Motors plans to up capacity of Lucknow unit

Tata Motors Ltd' Lucknow manufacturing plant has plans to expand its production by two to three times of its present capacity by 2008.

Lucknow Works & Fully Built Vehicles Vice-President KC Girotra said: "At present, the plant has the capacity to produce about 100 vehicles per day, which we plan to increase by almost three times by 2008. Till now we were mostly engaged in assembling the vehicles but now with manufacturing expansion, the number will increase."

Girotra was present at the launch of the Tata Ace in Lucknow, the four-wheeler in the small commercial vehicle segment. The Ace is priced at Rs 2.41 lakh.

The Ace, launched in May last year, has sold about 58,000 vehicles all over India. Its last month's sales were 7,000.

"A survey conducted by us showed that customers want both safety and comfort while covering long distances, which a three-wheeler may not be able to provide. This gave us the idea to come up with a four-wheeler mini truck, which is powered by a unique, small but efficient 700-cc diesel engine for both rural and urban use," said Sales and Marketing Head PK Verma.

With the overwhelming response for the Ace, the company plans to start producing them at its manufacturing plant in Uttaranchal also.

"Demand is exceeding the supply for the Ace, we will start production at our Uttaranchal plant as well, which will be by February-March next year," said Girotra.

The company will open about 1,000 sales points across the country by the end of the year. The total number of outlets in UP is 103 while the number of service stations is 85.

"The expansion of the Lucknow plant will not only give us new customers but will also generate ample employment in the state. Moreover, we expect to sell about 600 Ace models per month in the UP market," added Girotra.

The next Ace launch is scheduled for Punjab in November this year.