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Peugeot re-entering India to make scooters with Hero Motors

Byas Anand in New Delhi

The Peugeot group of France is planning a re-entry into the Indian market, to make premium scooters in a joint venture with the Pankaj Munjal-run Hero Motors.

Talks are at an advanced stage, sources close to both the companies said. Details like models to be introduced, the equity distribution and the nature of the tie-up are being finalised.

That done, Peugeot would approach the Foreign Investment Promotion Board for final approval for setting up the project.

Peugeot had recently pulled out of its car-making joint venture in India -- PAL-Peugeot -- due to "differences" with partner Premier Automobiles.

Hero Motors, the sources said, would not pursue the idea of manufacturing Peugeot's famed passenger cars through its venture. ''Our core competency is two-wheelers and we intend to concentrate on these. Four-wheelers are out of question for us.''

Hero Motors Managing Director Pankaj Munjal, when contacted, confirmed the move but refused to divulge any details saying that discussions are still on. ''We are not at a stage to talk about the venture now.''

Back home in France, Peugeot is engaged in the business of manufacturing a range of automobiles, beginning from bicycles, scooters, motorcycles to cars, all-purpose vehicles and vans.

Peugeot produces its range of bikes through Peugeot motocycles, which is a subsidiary of the parent PSA group and is independent of Automobiles Peugeot.

The Peugeot range of premium scooters currently available across the globe include renowned brands like Speedfight-M, Speedfight-100, LCD, LCDP and M, Zenith-N, LN and LS, Trekker Road, Trekker Off-road, Trekker-100P and Elyseo-50 and 100.

This venture would also mark Hero Motor's foray into the premium scooter segment. It had earlier thumbed down a proposed venture with Piaggio SPA of Italy to produce premium scooters. These products would be targetted at both domestic and foreign markets, the sources added.

Although both Hero and Piaggio had refused to cite any reasons for the same, sources said, ''Iin the wake of the ongoing tiff between Piaggio and the Singhania family, the fate of the new venture was very uncertain, which forced Hero Motors to call off the project.''

The premium scooters, which would be produced under the Hero-Peugeot venture, would sport the Briggs and Stratton engines.

Hero Motors had recently tied up with Briggs and Stratton of the United States, to set up a 50-50 joint venture for producing high quality four-stroke engines for two- and three-wheelers.

The joint venture company was set up with an installed capacity of producing 200,000 power trains per annum. The main focus of the Rs 800 million project was to capture a sizeable share of the world market, particularly western Europe and South America.

The project had initially envisaged an indigenisation level of 99 per cent from the first year of operations.

Besides, Hero Motors has also decided to roll out three new products soon for the rural market, the semi-urban market and the international market. These products -- the Super Shakti, SL and SLX -- will be priced at Rs 20,000, Rs 25,000 and Rs 35,000 respectively.

They are a product of Hero Motors' in-house research and development facility.

UNI

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