Force Motors to launch 'Force One' SUV; Targets 4000 sales

Force Motors will launch their first sports utility vehicle (SUV) ‘Force One’ in July, marking their entry in the personal vehicles segment. The SUV is expected to be priced around Rs 13-15 lakh.

Managing director Prasan Firodia at a press conference in Mumbai said, “In the first year, we are targeting 4,000 units being sold and in the following year we are eyeing 8,000-9,000 units being sold.”

The company spent Rs 150 crore on the product and expects SUV sales to constitute 25-30% of the total.

In the last financial year, Force Motors’ sales crossed Rs 3,000 crore. Firodia sees the company clocking a turnover of Rs 5,000 crore, along with group companies Jaya Hind Industries Ltd and MAN-Force Trucks Pvt Ltd.

The full sized SUV is being positioned between the entry and mid range, said President – Personal Vehicles Division, Sanjeev Garg.

The Indian auto industry grew 30% last year but witnessed a slowdown due to economic factors like high inflation and diesel prices. “Yes, a correction does exist but we are not looking at short-term gains. We will do a reasonable number till we stabilise ourselves and our product,” said Firodia.

Firodia further added, “We will rollout Force One next month. Next year we are gearing up to launch a multi-purpose passenger vehicle (MPV) and in 2013 we are hoping to launch the SUV’s successor which will be more premium.”

Its Pithampur plant in Madhya Pradesh has an installed capacity of 12,000 SUVs. “Depending on demand, time and cost we can increase capacity by 18,000 units in six months,” said Garg. They initially plan to start with 20 dealers and based on the response they will take it further.

The core elements of the product are imported from local suppliers like Bosch, Gabriel, Lumax and Rane. The local content will be around 75-80%. The only material which will be imported is the interiors and sheet metal stampings.

Force Motors is well known for its brands like Trax, Traveller, Trump and Gurkha.