AMW to focus on trucks; luxury bus to take a year

Truck-maker Asia MotorWorks (AMW) says its proposed luxury bus could take at least a year to hit the road.

AMW had showcased a prototype of its luxury bus at the Auto Show last year.

It was said to be launched in the January-March quarter.

“But in the downturn, our priorities have changed. The launch could take at least a year,” said A. Ramasubramanian, President, AMW Motors, on the sidelines of a seminar on commercial vehicle trends.

The luxury bus market is currently dominated by the likes of Volvo and Mercedes Benz. Asked about the pricing strategy, Ramasubramanian said its bus will be cheaper than competition.

For the moment, AMW is keen to focus on the medium and heavy commercial vehicles segment (16-49 tonnes), despite the market going through a major slump.

Ramasubramanian attributes the slump to the cyclical nature of the segment.

Though he did not rule out entering the light commercial vehicles, which is seeing fair growth, Ramasubramanian said the company will stick to M&HCV segment for the next three years due to its long-term potential.

A challenger to established commercial vehicle brands, AMW began rolling out its trucks in 2008.

During the financial year 2011-12, AMW clocked sales of 10,000 trucks.

Its sales grew in the off-highway segment (vehicles used in construction and mining).

AMW has a manufacturing facility in Bhuj, Gujarat, with an annual capacity of 50,000 commercial vehicles a year.

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