Hindustan Motors Ltd. Signs Memorandum of Agreement with Isuzu Motors India Pvt.Ltd.
CHENNAI, June 28, 2013: Isuzu
Motors India Private Limited, a subsidiary of Isuzu Motors Limited,
Japan, today signed an agreement with Hindustan Motors Limited (HML) for
contract manufacturing of Isuzu SUVs and pickup trucks in India. The
components for producing these vehicles will be imported by Isuzu Motors
from Thailand and assembled in HML’s factory at Thiruvallur, near
Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Mr. Takashi Kikuchi, President, Isuzu Motors India Private Limited, said, “We
are very confident about the growth prospects of the SUV and LCV market
in India, notwithstanding the current slowdown. We are also very happy
with the positive feedback of the market to our MU7 SUV and DMAX pickup
truck, which we launched in Coimbatore and Hyderabad in March this year
by importing these as CBUs from Thailand. We would now like to
accelerate and carry forward this positive momentum and expand our sales
operations in other parts of India, starting with the Southern region.
The collaboration with Hindustan Motors will support us by carrying out
assembly of our products at Thiruvallur which is about 70 kms from Sri
City, Andhra Pradesh, where our own local manufacturing facility is
planned to come up. We can thereby advance the scope of our sales
operations and increase the scale of supply volumes without waiting for
our local manufacturing facility to be ready.
“Hindustan
Motors Limited and Isuzu Motors have enjoyed good historical
relationship, and know each other as business partners very well. The
Thiruvallur facility is one of the best automotive manufacturing
facilities in India, and can meet the high quality standards of Isuzu
Motors,” Mr Kikuchi added.
Commenting
on the development, Mr. Uttam Bose, Managing Director & CEO,
Hindustan Motors Ltd., flagship of the C K Birla Group, stated, “Our
agreement for contract manufacturing of Isuzu’s globally renowned
vehicles is a testimony to the state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities
at our Thiruvallur plant. The operations will enable HML to optimally
utilize its spare capacity at Thiruvallur and make eminent business
sense at a time when the Indian economy and the automobile industry, in
particular, are passing through testing times. Today’s agreement with
Isuzu is a strategic move to keep Hindustan Motors on the growth path.”
About Isuzu Motors India
Isuzu
Motors India Private Limited is a subsidiary of Isuzu Motors Limited,
Japan. Known globally for its expertise in diesel engines and for the
manufacture of tough and durable vehicles, Isuzu Motors will supply the
MU7 sports utility vehicle and the DMAX pickup truck in India. The
company started its operations in India in 2012-13 and has set up two
dealerships – Hyderabad and Coimbatore – with a dealership soon opening
in Chennai. The dealer network expansion will continue with 9-10
dealerships expected to come up by end of the year.
About Hindustan Motors Limited
Hindustan
Motors Limited, the flagship venture of the multi-billion dollar CK
Birla Group, was established during the pre-Independence era at Port
Okha in Gujarat. Operations were moved in 1948 to Uttarpara in district
Hooghly, West Bengal, where the company began the production of the
iconic Ambassador.
Equipped
with integrated facilities such as press shop, forge shop, foundry,
machine shop and aggregate assembly units for engines, axles etc, the
company currently manufactures Ambassador (1500 and 2000 cc diesel, 1800
cc petrol, CNG and LPG variants) in the passenger car segment, light
commercial vehicle 1-tonne payload mini-truck Winner’s 1.5-litre and 2.0
litre diesel versions and Winner 1.8 XD PLUS (CNG) model, and auto
components at its Uttarpara plant. The company also runs operations at
Pithampur near Indore in Madhya Pradesh where it produces Winner.
In
the late 1980’s, Isuzu Motors had collaboration with Hindustan Motors
for manufacture of Isuzu 1.8 and 2.0-L engines in India.
Hindustan Motors is committed to core values of quality, safety, environmental care and holistic customer orientation.
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