Indian cars with Italian designs soon on Lankan roads
View(s):Sri Lankans will soon see innovative Indian cars with Italian- based Pininfarina’s automotive design prowess on local roads as result of a joint venture between Sri Lanka’s Ideal Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra of India, Nalin Welgama, founder and executive chairman Ideal Group told the Business Times.
The Mahindra and Mahindra company has acquired Pininfarina S.pA, paying US$185 million for the Italian car styling company known for its designs for iconic brands such as Ferrari, Maserati, Rolls-Royce and Cadillac, he said.
The Indian company will be launching range new models next year and Ideal Motors as the sole local franchise holder will introduce several of them suitable for Sri Lanka, Mr. Welgama revealed.
These new models will be fitted with Euro -4 /Euro -6 fuel compatible engines which are acceptable for Sri Lanka under new regulations, he said adding that making such environmentally friendly vehicles compulsory is an excellent move to curtail vehicle imports.
Mahindra will launch sub-4m SUV, the XUV 300 in February 2019 while Ideal Motors is to make it available in Sri Lanka in mid next year, he disclosed.
The carmaker has confirmed that the SUV will be available with both petrol and diesel engine options and will be equipped with various first-in-segment features.
The XUV300 will be the first car in its segment to offer dual-zone climate control. Other cars in this class are equipped with single-zone climate control or regular automatic air-con only.
Mr. Welgama noted that production at the vehicle assembly plant at the factory complex in Welipenna, Kalutara will commence by April or May next year carefully considering the 2019 budget impact on the industry.
One of the newest SUV models of Italian-based Pininfarina’s automotive design prowess will also be considered for assembling here in Sri Lanka under this joint venture with Mahindra and Mahindra, a part of the US$19 billion Mahindra Group based in India, he disclosed.
Mahindra will hold a 35 per cent stake in the JV while Ideal Motors will have 65 per cent, he pointed out adding that it has over 30 per cent of value addition in Sri Lanka.
It has been planned to produce several vehicle components including tyres, batteries, seats, seat covers, rubber parts, etc locally.
With the aim of manufacturing import substitutes for vehicle industry, Ideal Motors will provide facilities for local automotive components manufacturers to produce items of international standards under the global expertise of Mahindra.
An Automotive Vendor Park will be established at the Welipenna factory complex with the aim of exporting vehicle components for the international market specially the vast Indian market, he disclosed.
The company will assemble around 2,000 vehicles per year for the South Asian export market, Mr. Welgama opined.
He said that the total investment for the project would be close to Rs. 3 billion and it would have the ‘Made in Sri Lanka’ tag in it. “We hope to market the KUV100 vehicle at around Rs. 3 million.”
It has been initially planned to market KUV100 vehicle assembled in the island with the ‘Made in Sri Lanka’ tag.