Tata-Daewoo growing strongly

Tata Motors-owned Daewoo commercial vehicles unit in South Korea is expected to record a 470 per cent jump in exports of heavy duty vehicles, resulting in increased revenues for Tata Motors.

Speaking to Autocar Professional, Chandra Vir Singh, vice-president, Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Co. Ltd (TDCV), said the company expects to sell 5,000 units in the current fiscal despite falling domestic demand. The Korean plant, which has an installed capacity of 20,000 units per annum on two-shift basis, is currently working on a single shift.

“The current market for heavy duty vehicles in Korea is around 10,500 units and we have a 30 per cent share. TDCV is doing extremely well on the export front, thanks to the far reach of Tata Motors’ global network. Exports were a mere 350 before we acquired it. Last year it was 800 and for the current fiscal it is expected to be 2,000 units,” Singh said.

TDCV, the second largest CV manufacturer of South Korea, also unveiled the Novus range of medium size trucks, in 4.5T, 5T and 7T models in South Korea after having launched the tipper version in India.

The Novus is currently being imported from the Korean plant in CKD form and, according to Singh, 1,000 units are expected to be brought into India during the initial phase.

P THARYAN