Times of India
RAJKOT, Apr 11: There is competition for Tata's Nano from Gujarat. The new entrant in the small car sector is the Morbi-based world famous clock-maker Ajanta group. The company is planning to manufacture an electric car at its unit at Samkhiyali in Kutch district and market it at a price lower than Rs 1-lakh Nano.
Ajanta group director Jaysukh Patel told TOI: "The company is already manufacturing electric scooters and bikes under ‘Oreva' brand. Production of electric car is not difficult for us as the technology is almost similar and 70 per cent of its parts can be produced in-house, giving us an edge over the vehicle's pricing."
The R&D team was exploring the viability of the small car project under the conditions in India, he said. Sources said the company has imported eight electric cars of different brands, and they were being tested and studied by the technical staff for necessary modification under Indian conditions."
The Ajanta group is serious in its attempt to keep the basic price of the proposed car as low as Rs 85,000. At present, in the electric car segment only Reva car is available in India.
Another player in the small car segment, the Rajkot-based Field Marshal group, is in negotiations with Australian company Farnow Technologies for a joint venture for a low cost electric car.