The Hindu Business Line : M&M inaugurates Haridwar 3-wheeler plant

The Chief Minister of Uttaranchal, Mr N.D. Tiwari, with the Vice-Chairman & MD, Mahindra & Mahindra, Mr Anand Mahindra, at the inauguration of a three-wheeler plant in Haridwar, Uttaranchal on Thursday. - Ramesh Sharma

Haridwar, Uttaranchal, Dec. 8

MAHINDRA & Mahindra today inaugurated its automotive plant for three-wheelers here.

The company plans to make 50,000 three-wheelers a year at the unit starting early 2007 and said it may set up another plant in Uttaranchal for commercial vehicles.

"The Haridwar plant would provide a fillip to our three-wheeler business," the Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of M&M, Mr Anand Mahindra, told presspersons after inaugurating the plant.

He added that the company was looking for a suitable location to set up a plant to manufacture heavy vehicles also, after its recent tie-up with the US-based `International Truck and Engine Corporation' and Uttaranchal was one of the three States it was in talks with.

Meanwhile, the Haridwar plant has been set up at an investment of Rs 70 crore, of which Rs 40 crore has been contributed by M&M and the rest by Neel Metal, a subsidiary of Jay Bharat Maruti Ltd. Neel Metal would provide cargo bodies and other assembling tools to M&M.

The company also plans to utilise the plant to manufacture electric vehicles, which would be commercially launched by the name `Champion-Bijlee' in the near future, the President of M&M's Automotive Sector, Mr Pawan Goenka, said.

This is the company's fifth manufacturing plant in the country after Nashik, Zaheerabad, Igatpuri and Kandivali. Up till now, the Champion three- wheelers were being manufactured at the Zaheerabad facility.

However, now all the production of the vehicle would be gradually shifted to the Haridwar facility, taking the capacity to 50,000 units. "The present capacity of the plant (Haridwar) would be scaled to 50,000 gradually after shifting the manufacturing of the vehicle from Zaheerabad," Mr Goenka said. The Nashik plant would primarily be utilised for manufacturing `Logan' car. The plant in Zaheerabad in turn would be used to manufacture pick-up trucks and light commercial vehicles.

Inaugurating the plant, the Chief Minister of Uttaranchal, Mr N.D. Tiwari, said, "The plant would promote engineering skills and direct and indirect employment in the State, which is our vision for the development of the State."

Champion comes in both pick-up and passenger carrier variants.

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