Tata Motors is planning to assemble its Rs 1 lakh car in other auto hubs before launching it in India, reports Economic Times.
It is believed that the company has submitted an application to Thailand`s Board of Investment (BoI) for an investment of around Rs 8-9 billion to assemble the Rs 1-lakh car in Thailand and also build a component hub around it.
The application of the company is part of Thailand`s eco-car project, which is believed to have received proposals from a Japanese car makers like Nissan, Suzuki, Toyota, Honda and Mitsubishi. Tata Motors (Q, N,C,F)* and Volkswagen are the only non-Japanese carmakers in the race.
The board of investment is likely to consider Tata Motors` proposal next week. It is believed that the eco-car project would likely involve the Rs 1-lakh car. Tata Motors is already in discussion with partner Fiat to assemble the car in a host of emerging automotive hubs like Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. It may also roll out the car in parts of Europe. Tata Motors is planning to roll out around 100,000 cars annually in its Thai assembly plant.
It is believed that, Tata Motors may use the Rs 1-lakh car platform to build something that will be in tune with the Thai regulations for the eco-car.