The Hindu : Business : Cheapest tractor from SAS Motors

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 27, 2004

Business

Business

Cheapest tractor from SAS Motors

The Union Minister for Agriculture, Sharad Pawar (second from left), looking at the low cost tractor, Angad, during its demonstration in New Delhi on Thursday. - Photo: Ramesh Sharma

NEW DELHI, AUG. 26. With technology from China, SAS Motors, a privately-held company, today introduced one of India's cheapest tractors with a 22 hp unit priced at Rs. 99,000.

The company, for which this is the first initiative in the automobile market, has also introduced a 15 hp power tiller (Rs. 65,000), a two-tonne dumper (Rs. 2 lakhs) and a 1.5-tonne three-wheeler (Rs. 1.50 lakhs).

"The tractor `Angad' has 90 per cent components from China. While we are sourcing the technology and many equipment from the company Shefing, the engines are being sourced from Liadong,'' SAS Motors Managing Director, Ravindra Kumar, told reporters here.

The company, which has its manufacturing unit in Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh), and is looking to expand to six more locations across the country, expects to start selling the vehicles shortly.

Mr. Kumar, who is an exporter of hi-fashion leather and textiles apparel, said he would be making an investment of close to Rs. 2.5 crores in the whole project, which includes setting up plants in other locations like West Bengal, Chennai and Maharashtra.

Asked whether any of the Chinese companies had stake in the venture, he said SAS Motors just had a `technology cooperation' arrangement with them.

The tractors have received the required government clearances, including for emission and roadworthiness.

Giving a demonstration here in the presence of the Union Agriculture Minister, Sharad Pawar, and the Rural Development Minister, Raghuvansh Prasad, he said the Ghaziabad facility had a capacity to produce 50 units a day.

The company claimed at below Rs. 1 lakh, the `Angad' tractor is half the price of the cheapest tractor available in the market. ``Fuel and maintenance costs will also go down by 25 per cent and 60 per cent respectively,'' Mr. Kumar said, adding that the vehicle suits a large variety of implements, crop and soil types and could be used for irrigation as well as transportation.

``When coupled with low-cost financing, that is being sought from the government, a farmer will need to pay an instalment of just Rs. 1,500 a month to replace bullock-driven ploughs with our tractor,'' he said. — PTI

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Business