The Hindu Business Line : Atul Auto sets sales target at 22,000 units

Mumbai May 21 Atul Auto has increased its sales target to 22,000 units for 2007-08, against 14,500 units sold in 2006-07, for its existing range of front-engine diesel three-wheelers (under the Atul Shakti brand).

It now plans to sell an additional 7,000 units with the introduction of rear-engine variants of the same brand in July. The company also plans to introduce CNG and LPG variants on the rear-engine platform.

Front-engine variants house the engine within the body of the vehicle where the NVH (noise, vibration and harshness levels) tends to be on the higher side. In a rear-engine three-wheeler, the NVH levels are lower. The new variant is developed by the company's R&D facility at Pune.

Market in South

There is a strong market in the South for such vehicles, said Mr Paul Z, Senior General Manager - Marketing. The company has decided to introduce the new variant in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka this year by appointing six dealerships; next year, the company will cover Tamil Nadu and Kerala as part of its extended coverage in south India.

Besides, the company has plans to strengthen its presence in Maharashtra. By the year-end it will increase its dealerships to 18 from eight. Its dealerships will go up from 85 to 130 across the country by end-2007, said Mr Paul.

The rear- and front-engine diesel three-wheelers will be produced at the Rajkot and Haridwar plants, which have an annual capacity of 24,000 and 12,000 respectively.

Khushboo Chakkda

Atul Auto has a third plant (production capacity of 1,800-2,000 on a single shift basis) in Jamnagar that manufactures its first product, `Khusboo Chakkda' (a vehicle engineered from a motorcycle).

The company plans a facelift for `Khusboo Chakkda' this fiscal to include features like a safety-canopy for catering to different sectors (for the fishery industry, passenger and cargo carrier and so on ), said Mr Paul. It will have the same Euro - II compliant `Greaves' diesel engine. As of now, the company sells 1,000-1,200 units annually and expects to grow this market by 10-12 per cent per annum.

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