Guess who's next to bring in a lakh rupee car in India!
"Maruti Suzuki?" No.
"Hyundai?" No.
"Is it Honda after a second thought?" No.
"GM or must be Ford?" No, it's our desi clock and home appliances manufacturer Ajanta, which is famous by its brand Orpat.
Well, Ajanta is planning to buy a Chinese electric car company based in the Guangzhou province of China. The renowned quartz clock maker will then launch a sub-one-lakh-rupee car in the Indian market. To add icing to the cake, it is not just an ordinary low-cost car, it’s a low-cost electric car!
Apart from clocks and home appliances, the Rs 1,500-Crore company, which has its headquarters at Morbi in Gujarat, also makes electric bikes. It ventured in the automotive world in 2007 with the two-wheeler electric vehicles, and it manufactures around 10,000 bikes every year at its Kutch facility.
Ajanta has made a layout of Rs 100 Crore to acquire an existing assembly unit of an anonymous carmaker, which can roll out 5,000 units a year. The deal will be finalized within this year. The acquisition will help the company acquire technologies for molding, designs and battery production, among others. Furthermore, it would help in creating and establishing a new market for electric cars in India.
The company is seeking government support so that it can develop low-cost cars for the Indian market. Besides, VAT and excise duty put together make almost a fourth of the total manufacturing cost of the car. Ajanta feels that if the cost is lowered, the company can come out with battery-powered cars at Rs 1 Lakh or less.
Moreover, the clock maker has revealed that it will go with its own 'Oreva' brand for the cars. Oreva is derived from the names of Ajanta’s founder OR Patel and his wife Revaben.
The name is musical enough for the Indian ears and sounds like someone is addressing the REVA, calling it "Oh REVA" in a sing-song way. Carazoo.com feels it has been a good idea to adopt the brand name Overa as the name screams of an eco-friendly car like the REVA.
A prototype of the expected car is being designed and it can run 120 km per one charge of 7 units of electricity that will cost nearly Rs 35 per charge. The company has designed more than 10 battery-powered cars of four-seater and six-seater capacity. The six-seater will cost nearly Rs 1.5 lakh, while the four-seater can be available for Rs 1 lakh.
"Maruti Suzuki?" No.
"Hyundai?" No.
"Is it Honda after a second thought?" No.
"GM or must be Ford?" No, it's our desi clock and home appliances manufacturer Ajanta, which is famous by its brand Orpat.
Well, Ajanta is planning to buy a Chinese electric car company based in the Guangzhou province of China. The renowned quartz clock maker will then launch a sub-one-lakh-rupee car in the Indian market. To add icing to the cake, it is not just an ordinary low-cost car, it’s a low-cost electric car!
Apart from clocks and home appliances, the Rs 1,500-Crore company, which has its headquarters at Morbi in Gujarat, also makes electric bikes. It ventured in the automotive world in 2007 with the two-wheeler electric vehicles, and it manufactures around 10,000 bikes every year at its Kutch facility.
Ajanta has made a layout of Rs 100 Crore to acquire an existing assembly unit of an anonymous carmaker, which can roll out 5,000 units a year. The deal will be finalized within this year. The acquisition will help the company acquire technologies for molding, designs and battery production, among others. Furthermore, it would help in creating and establishing a new market for electric cars in India.
The company is seeking government support so that it can develop low-cost cars for the Indian market. Besides, VAT and excise duty put together make almost a fourth of the total manufacturing cost of the car. Ajanta feels that if the cost is lowered, the company can come out with battery-powered cars at Rs 1 Lakh or less.
Moreover, the clock maker has revealed that it will go with its own 'Oreva' brand for the cars. Oreva is derived from the names of Ajanta’s founder OR Patel and his wife Revaben.
The name is musical enough for the Indian ears and sounds like someone is addressing the REVA, calling it "Oh REVA" in a sing-song way. Carazoo.com feels it has been a good idea to adopt the brand name Overa as the name screams of an eco-friendly car like the REVA.
A prototype of the expected car is being designed and it can run 120 km per one charge of 7 units of electricity that will cost nearly Rs 35 per charge. The company has designed more than 10 battery-powered cars of four-seater and six-seater capacity. The six-seater will cost nearly Rs 1.5 lakh, while the four-seater can be available for Rs 1 lakh.
Labels: Battery-Powered-Car, Electric-Cars, Low-Cost-Cars, One-Lakh-Rupee-Car, Two-Wheeler-Electric-Vehicles
