The Hindu Business Line : Taiwan’s SYM looking to make India an export hub

Plans ahead
Initially a sales target of 5,000 units of Flyte has been set, which will be ramped up to 8,000 soon.
Another scooter on the Flyte platform and electric vehicles planned in six months.

Our Bureau

New Delhi, Oct.15 Taiwan-based two-wheeler manufacturer SYM, part of $1.1-billion San Yang Industry Company Ltd, which has entered the country through partnership with Kinetic Motors, said that it may look at making India an export base for the European market.

The company on Monday rolled out its 125-cc gearless scooter, Flyte targeted at the domestic market.

“We view India as the next step to expand. We hope to grow with the scooter segment. However, in the long run, exports are a possibility since it is easier to ship from India to Europe than from Taiwan or China. We will see the kind of response we get from the consumers. Accordingly, we will plan capacity for domestic market and exports,” said Mr Harrison Liu, Executive Vice-President, SYM, Taiwan.

Currently, SYM is already exporting its two-wheelers to several countries.

When asked about the company’s plans to enter the motorcycles market, he said that the competition was too intense among the existing players and hence the company would study the market before firming up any plans.

Commenting on sales targets, Ms Sulajja Firodia Motwani, Managing Director, Kinetic Motor Company, said “Initially, we are looking to sell about 5,000 units of Flyte and by June we plan to ramp it up to 8,000 units a month.”

She said that the company, along with SYM, would launch another scooter that would also be on the same platform as Flyte with some changes, and electric vehicles in the coming six months.

Priced at Rs 37,499 (ex showroom Delhi), Flyte will come with a three-year warranty.

Ms Motwani said that she expected a turnaround with the launch of the new vehicle.

“We expect to break-even by June 2008, with a turnover of Rs 200 crore,” she said.

Talking about Kinetic Engineering Ltd, the auto component subsidiary of the Kinetic Group, Ms Motwani said that the company would invest Rs 60 crore to set up a plant for manufacturing gear boxes for Tata’s Rs 1-lakh car at a capacity of 1.75 lakh units. The investment also includes expansion of the company’s existing facility at Ahmednagar. The company has initiated the process of raising funds of up to Rs 80 crore, she added.

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