Bajaj PV 1500 to compete with Tata Ace

PV 1500, the new four-wheeled light commercial vehicle from the Bajaj Auto stables, will be rolled out of the company’s Waluj plant near Aurangabad in 2009. The Bajaj facility at Waluj, spread over an area of 906 acres, currently manufactures the Bajaj Auto-Kawasaki range of motorcycles and three-wheelers.

Designed and made by a team of Baja Auto professionals, the PV 1500 small truck is expected to hit Indian roads in June 2009. Being The new LCV model is Bajaj’s first vehicle in the LCV segment, and would compete against the popular Tata Ace. The Bajaj PV 1500 would arrive with a payload capacity of around one-tonne.

Bajaj Auto has already lined up a vendor park at the Waluj plant premises, where the company would, in all probability, lure suppliers to set up shop. A source said that Neel Auto has already been roped in by the company to establish its base at the park to manufacture fuel tanks for Bajaj two-wheelers.

It would not be easy for Bajaj to compete with the well-established Tata Ace, however. The Ace was launched in May 2005, and is now the undisputed king in the small LCV space. The Ace has a 700 cc, 16 bhp engine and is priced between Rs 2.25 to 2.35 lakh. The Bajaj PV 1500 will have to be a seriously better proposition for new buyers to opt for it instead of the proven light truck from Tata.

Bajaj has an alliance in India with Renault-Nissan. However, Bajaj is going it solo with the PV1500 LCV.

In other news, Bajaj Auto and the Renault-Nissan Alliance might jointly build a car, code-named ULC, with wholesale price range starting from $2500. It is said that the companies have already kicked off a joint-venture company to develop, produce and market the ULC.

The new joint-venture in which Bajaj Auto will hold 50 per cent, will have 25 per cent holding by Renault and the remaining 25 per cent will be with Nissan. The ULC is likely to be made with an India focus and will be made at the manufacturing facility at Chakan in Maharashtra. . Sales will start in early 2011 in India, as a primary market, with growth potential in other emerging markets around the world, a source added.

The new Chakan facility will boast of an initial capacity to produce as many as 4,00,000 cars a year