Micro Cars Ltd gets UNDP order for 30 minivans

Sri Lanka’s Micro Cars, Ltd has received a purchase order from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka for 30 Micro Car minivans, an official statement said.

The Micro Cars minivans generally retail for about US$10,000. However, terms of this sale were not disclosed, MicroHoldings US, Inc said in the statement issued from its San Diego headquarters.

MicroHoldings this week acquired a 40% equity stake in Micro Cars Ltd and hold the international license for Micro Cars vehicle and plant sales.

Jeffrey Flannery, CEO of MicroHoldings US, Inc said, “This order, from the local office of an international organization with the size and stature of the UN, is strong validation of the value that Micro Cars has developed in its line of vehicles. We also believe this demonstrates that Micro Cars can compete on an international level from the critical standpoints of production, quality, cost and service.” Established in 1995, Micro Cars, Ltd. is Sri Lanka’s only automobile manufacturer with a line that includes a sedan, a coupe, a minivan and a four wheel drive pickup truck. The Micro Cars facility at Peliyagoda is labour intensive, unlike U.S. and Western plants that rely on expensive automation and robots. The system was designed for countries such as Sri Lanka that have low labour rates but a need for high quality, inexpensive vehicles, the statement said. The company was established by veteran automobile engineer, Dr. Lawrence Perera, who struggled in the formative years to get the project off the ground in the wake of stalling bureaucracy.

It has its own Patent for small city cars which are made affordable to the general public and also cater to various other market segments through assembly of a variety of a range of vehicles catering to the ever growing automobile market within the country.

It is also involved in concept design projects for small hybrid vehicles, electric cars, diesel multiple units for railway.

The board of directors comprises Dr. Perera – Founder Chairman, Roy De Silva – Director, C. P. Guhashanka – Founder Director/ Marketing and Sabri Wahid – Director/Finance & Administration

Under the deal with MicroHoldings US, Inc, announced on January 8, the US company would pay $300,000 in cash over the next six months to Micro Cars. Shareholders of Micro Cars will also receive warrants in Holdings, exercisable after two years.

The statement quoted Flannery as saying the move to bring the parties together was the result of working together for over a year and seeing the benefit of establishing a closer working relationship. The Micro Cars plant is currently producing about 35 to 40 cars per months and has the capability to produce as many as 600 per month. The company also assembles a SUV under license to the Korean car maker SsangYong and sells that vehicle for about US$40,000 per unit.