JEDDAH, 21 November 2005 — Tata Motors, a Bombay-based automobile manufacturer, has plans to export its cars to Saudi Arabia.
“After lot of studies, we’re introducing Tata passenger cars, following the successful acceptance of Tata trucks across the Kingdom,” Mohamed A. Alhamrani, chairman and chief executive officer, Alhamrani Group of Companies, said last night.
“A few models of Tata cars will start coming soon, hopefully in the next few months,” Alhamrani told Arab News on the sidelines of a reception he hosted in honor of Tata Motors Ltd.’s Managing Director Ravi Kant and P.G. Shankar, head, international business, commercial vehicle business unit.
Alhamrani said his relationship with Tata Motors had been “three years old, very strong and solid. It has grown phenomenally. We’re seeing a great acceptance of the Tata name and the Tata brand. We’ve made great strides with Tata vehicles (trucks) that suit the market.” He added: “Our company has 50 to 55 years of experience in the automotive field. We’ve an alliance with Tata Motors and hope to introduce its passenger cars on top of its commercial vehicles. We’ve undertaken trials of the cars in the market.”
Indicating that the Alhamrani company is introducing a specialized line of pilgrimage buses in cooperation with the Tata-Hispano (Spain) alliance, he said: “We’re introducing a Daewoo range of vehicles, now that there is an alliance between Tata Motors and Daewoo (of Korea). So we’ve an exciting range of products as a result of Tata’s alliances.”
Alhmarani said: “We’ve worked diligently with the Tatas to introduce a car that is suited to the Saudi market, environment, and roads.” Asked about the prospects of opening a joint venture automobile assembly line in the Kingdom, Alhamrani said it could not be considered in the near future. “The automobile industry is a volume driven industry and so this (proposal) could be considered on a future date.”
Kant’s first visit to the Kingdom has come at a time when Tata Motors has ongoing plans to enhance the company’s presence in overseas markets. Consolidation of position in all segments and getting into new segments have been part of the plans.
Tata Motors is setting up an assembly unit in South Africa and a bus-building facility in Turkey, and is scaling up operations in seven countries. Asked whether he had similar plans for the Kingdom or the rest of the Gulf, Kant said: “There is no such proposal at the moment.” Tata Motors is one of the largest companies in the Tata Group. More than three million Tata vehicles ply on Indian roads making Tata a dominant force in the Indian automobile industry.
Tata Motors is described as India’s only fully integrated automobile manufacturer with a portfolio that covers trucks, buses, utility vehicles and passenger cars.
Tata Motors has the distinction of giving India its first and only indigenously built passenger car — The Tata Indica and the premium feature sedan — The Tata Indigo. The Indica, launched in 1998, reached the 2,50,000 sales mark within 52 months of launch. Tata Indica and Tata Sumo are being considered for introduction in this part of the world.
Meanwhile, Tata Motors has launched the Novus range of heavy commercial vehicles. Designed by Daewoo Commercial Vehicles (which Tata took over in 2004) the vehicles are being made at Tata’s heavy commercial vehicle plant in India’s eastern city of Jamshedpur. Tata Motors is India’s largest truck and bus maker by sales and revenue.
The company has been doing very well in South Africa, a country it entered three years ago. The sale of vehicles in South Africa has gone up to 15,000 units this year from 8,500 three years back. The company found high-growth potential in Turkey where it exported pick-ups, cars, trucks and buses.
The other overseas markets where the company will increase its presence include the UK, Russia, Italy, Spain, countries in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, and Senegal.
Commenting on the performance of the Ace, the only diesel mini-truck in the world, Kant said it has evinced demand from various countries.
