Tata Motors to double MCV, HCV capacity in 4 yrs
The Financial Express — June 16, 2006

Tata Motors is set to double its medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MCV & HCV) production capacity in the country in the next four years.

The auto major currently produces a little over 300 units a day of MCVs and HCVs taken together here, while another 80 units roll out of its Lucknow facility. This figure is thus expected to touch around 800 units a day in the next four years.

Talking to select media persons here on Thursday, AP Arya, president, medium & heavy commercial vehicles division, Tata Motors, said, "It will be our endeavour that between Jamshedpur and Lucknow we should be able to more than double (the present output) over the next four years."

Tata Motors wants to make Jamshedpur in Jharkhand as the Mecca for the MCV & HCV segment in the country.

With an existing network of around 500 ancillary units here supplying various parts and components to a number of leading auto manufacturers in the country, including Tata Motors, and with work on an automobile special economic zone (SEZ) progressing well, the place already has the wherewithal of becoming a major MCV & HCV production centre.

"We are focusing on Jamshedpur to develop as a hub for MCVs & HCVs," said Mr Arya, adding that Lucknow was "clearly a supporting line".

As the auto major feels that as the demand for its MCVs and HCVs in the coming years would "even be more than what Jamshedpur alone would be able to cater to", it is also expanding its Lucknow set-up.

While work on its MCV & HCV expansion plan at Lucknow has already started, the company is also rationalising its product range there.

The auto major is trying to develop the axles and the transmission systems for the Novus vehicles at H V Axle and H V Transmission here, two of its fully-owned subsidiaries.

In November last year, Tata Motors had launched its new facility here to build the Korean-designed Novus range of heavy commercial vehicles.

Earlier in 2004, the auto major had taken over Daewoo's HCV division and had formed Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicles (TDCV) as its 100% subsidiary.

While the axles for the Novus are "undergoing development right now (at H V Axle)" the transmission systems from H V Transmission "is our long term plan", said the president, medium & heavy commercial vehicles.

Right now, however, both these are coming from Korea as only 30% indigenisation is said to have taken place so far on the Novus. To whether Tata Motors was exporting any Novus models from this country today, Mr Arya said, "Right now the export demand generated for Novus here is being met by TDCV".

Tata Motors currently makes only the Novus tipper here. It is currently busy in developing different other types of applications too. Asked if it was cheaper to produce the Novus tipper here than in Korea, he said, "this is what our aim will be".