The Dharwad plant will cater to India’s growing demand for world class fully-built buses for intra-city and inter-city transportation with international standard comfort, quality and safety. It will produce a comprehensive range of buses to be marketed under the ‘Starbus’ and ‘Globus’ brands, including 16 to 54-seater standard buses, 18 and 45-seater luxury buses, luxury coaches and low-floor city buses.
Spread over about 123 acres, the plant will have a capacity to produce 30,000 units a year, to be achieved in phases. In 2009-10, the first full year of operation, production can be up to 15,000 units. The joint venture has already invested about Rs. 200 crores. The plant, at full capacity, will generate over 6,500 direct jobs. It will be supported by a vendor park.
In May 2006, Tata Motors and Marcopolo announced a joint venture company in India to manufacture and assemble fully-built buses and coaches. The joint venture, in which Tata Motors will hold 51 per cent of the equity and Marcopolo will hold 49 per cent, initially set up a manufacturing facility in Lucknow from where the DTC low-floor city bus order was executed.
The joint venture is good combination with Tata Motors providing technology and expertise in chassis and aggregates, and Marcopolo providing the expertise and know-how in processes and systems for bodybuilding and bus body design. The buses built so far conform to international standards in quality and safety, and the plan is to market the products not only in India but also in all Tata Motors focused markets globally.
At the time of signing the agreement in 2006, the Chairman of Tata Motors, Mr. Ratan N. Tata said: “The rapidly expanding and improving road network, connecting cities and also rural areas, is expected to substantially grow passenger transport. The joint venture with Marcopolo, which is one of the largest bus body builders, will enable Tata Motors to successfully address the growing demand in India, as well as relevant markets abroad”.
Tata Motors has already executed the first order from DTC for 655 low-floor city buses. Market reports indicate that the company has bagged the second tender for 1,625 buses which is already under production. The company is also working with many other State and city transport corporations, including BMTC in Bangalore, for which the company has recently supplied 2 low-floor city buses.
