By PYC Bearings
©2004-2008
Tata Motors will conduct the first test run of its ambitious small car in April 2008 before the scheduled roll out during the middle of 2008. Sources close to the development told that the track would be ready by next April, after which test run of the Rs 1 lakh car would be carried out.
According to the sources, civil construction of the project was nearing completion. The engine shop, paint shop, press shop and the assembly area were getting ready while construction of individual roofs was complete. The sources said the mother plant would require 640 acre, while another 290 acre would be allotted to the vendors.
Referring to the vendor park, the sources said nearly 55 vendors had agreed to come to Singur in Hooghly district, the location of the small car project, with a promised investment of around Rs 2,200 crore. This is in addition to the Rs 1,500-crore investment to be made in the mother plant by Tata Motors.
The sources said a prototype of the car was complete and would be showcased in an auto expo before the vehicle is rolled out commercially.
Some of the major vendors that have agreed to come to Singur are Caparo Engineering India Pvt Ltd, Gabriel, Lumax Industries, Sona Koyo Steering Systems, Bosch Chasis Systems India Ltd, Amtek Auto, Lucas TVS, Tata Ryerson, Tata Johnson Controls, Tata Toyo and Tata Ficosa Automotive Systems.
Sources said to speed up the work, Tata Motors would go from two-shift to three-shift operations. This would help in meeting the targeted schedule of launching the car during the middle of 2008.
After the test run, it would take another two to three months for stabilisation of operations before the car is ready to hit the roads. The small car would have a 600cc engine and four doors.
The sources said power substation was put in place and water supply arrangement and effluent treatment plant was almost ready. Machines have started to arrive at the plant, they added.