Tata keen to source auto-parts Nano plant to be delayed

Kazi Azizul Islam

Indian auto-giant Tata Motors has shown interests on sourcing auto-components from Bangladesh, said a top official of the company’s business partner here.
A technical team from Tata will carry out a survey here within next two months for assessing the possibility of manufacturing auto-components in Bangladesh, chairman of Nitol Motors, Matlub Ahmed, told New Age on Friday.
Matlub and his colleagues on Thursday had a long and crucial meeting with Tata Motors Managing Director Prakash Telang who was in Dhaka for some hours on the day.
‘Our discussions focussed much on the possibility of sourcing Bangladeshi auto-components for manufacturing Tata vehicles in India as well as assembling them in Bangladesh,’ said Matlub.
Matlub said he had apprised the Tata boss on a growing and quite reliable capacity of Bangladesh Machine Tools Factory, some private sector automobile battery manufacturers and a promising light-engineering industry in Bangladesh.
‘I brought to his [Telang’s] notice the ready capacity here for sourcing components like batteries, vehicle tyres and break drums,’ said Matlub. ‘He agreed to send a Tata team to do an on-the-spot feasibility study.’
Matlub feels that if technical support is provided, ‘many auto-component manufacturers can grow here… We already have a promising light-engineering industry here.
Asked how the Tata MD responded to Nitol’s plan for setting up a plant in Bangladesh for manufacturing Tata’s much hyped small car Nano, Matlub said, ‘As we want to use local components in Nano, so any progress in setting up the proposed plant would depend on the progress of attaining capability in Bangladesh for producing auto-components.’
Though he categorically hinted a delayed possibility for having a Nano plant in Bangladesh, Matlub was however hopeful on his dream project.
Bangladeshi customers showed huge interest in Nano that was showcased in the India Trade Fair in Dhaka last month. But disappointments were there as more than 100 per cent tax on intact car would cost each Nano nearly Tk 6 lakh.
Nitol officials estimated that a locally manufactured Nano would cost Tk 3 lakh. So a plant here for rolling out 50,000 units annually would be viable if 10,000 units are sold locally and the rest are exported, they said.
Nitol assembles and sells Tata trucks and buses in Bangladesh for nearly three decades.
Matlub also discussed with Telang expansion and development of Tata’s assembling facilities and the prospect of setting up a new plant for Tata’s ACE series mini-trucks.