Bajaj to invest Rs 500 cr in Waluj 4-wheeler plant

Bajaj Auto will come up with its 4-wheeler plant at Waluj near Aurangabad instead of the present proposed location at Chakan.

Addressing shareholders at the annual general meeting on Thursday, Rajiv Bajaj, managing director Bajaj Auto, said, "In all probability we will shift the 4-wheeler plant to Waluj since we have enough land available there and have also reconstructed few of the existing buildings."

Bajaj had earlier said the company may look at an alternative location for its small car project since it has not been able to get the adequate land at Chakan.
Kevin D'sa, president (finance), at an analyst conference call, said the new 4-wheeler platform, which can also build 3-wheelers and the ultra-low-cost car, will come up with an investment of Rs 500 crore.

"The manufacturing cost will be over and above the Rs 500 crore and at a later stage the production can be shifted out of Waluj," D'sa said.

Refusing to divulge much details on the project, Bajaj said, "It is a confidential agreement between the 3 companies, however, we want to make a money making car. Capex would be under Rs 500 crore and hopefully we will be able to launch it by 2012."
The Waluj plant is supposed to be a dedicated site for manufacture of 3-wheelers and the small car. Bajaj already has a plant at Chakan manufacturing motorcycles. D'sa said due to intense competition from TVS in the 3-wheeler passenger carrier segment, there has been some loss of its 90% market share.

"The removal of permit in Tamil Nadu has opened up the market for us where the pent-up demand is around 35,000 units. In the next 3-4 months we will see significant sales happening in this region," he said.