The Hindu Business Line : International Tractor to foray into car-making

International Tractors Ltd (ITL), makers of Sonalika tractors, is foraying into all segments of car making and would announce its tie-ups with global giants in this sector within the next six months, its Chairman, Mr L.D. Mittal, said hereon Tuesday.

"The Sonalika Group is already in talks with global companies. We are not, however, going to make a Rs 1 lakh car or compete with the Tatas in this segment. We will be watching how they fare with their product and then enter all the segments of car-making," he told reporters.

Already, the company's prototype based on hydrogen cell has been tested by scientists at Benares Hindu University (BHU) some 18 months ago and preparations are on for its commercial production, Mr Mittal, who is also the Chairman of the upcoming International Cars and Motors Ltd, said.

"We have a number of investors lined up. But we will root only for those who provide us the latest technology as well."

Last month, the President, Mr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, appointed Mr Mittal as a Honorary Consul-General of Macedonia (Eastern Europe) in India.

The Group, with a turnover of Rs 3,000 crore, including revenues to the tune of Rs 1,200 crore in tractor segment, as on March 31 this year, has seen 10 per cent of its stake picked up by Citibank, 12 per cent by Yanmar of Japan, which also provided technology free of cost, and 10 per cent by 3i of the United Kingdom in recent times. Its latest offering, Rhino, an eight-seater, multi-utility vehicle tractor with an average mileage of 16 km to a litre of diesel, equivalent of a motorcycle's fuel consumption, stood fifth in the 104-car Himalayan Rally recently.

Mr Mittal said his company, the third largest tractor manufacturer in India with sale of more than 32,000 tractors in 2005-06, was growing at a 25 per cent rate annually. In a decade of its existence, it sold 1.60 lakh tractors in India and was now exporting to a number of countries, including Nepal where it is the market leader.

To double output

Now, with its Hoshiarpur plant in Punjab running to full production capacity of 40,000 tractors annually and the company setting to double its output, it is going to set up an additional unit, probably in Himachal Pradesh to avail itself of tax reliefs, with an investment of about Rs 200 crore in a few months from now.

Mr Mittal said the tractor market in India was 3.50 lakh vehicles per annum. India is set to increase its current ratio of 11 tractors per 1,000 hectares gradually, the world ratio being 34 tractors per 1,000 hectares.

In Gujarat, having a market of 22,000 tractors annually, the company has 60 dealers. It sold 3,000 tractors in the State last year and has set a target of 5,000 tractors this year.

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