Tata Motors announces joint venture with Thai firm Thonburi
Pallab Bhattacharya, New Delhi
India's biggest commercial vehicle manufacturer Tata Motors has entered into a joint venture with a Thailand-based assembler of automobiles Thonburi to manufacture, assemble and market pick-up trucks.Announcing the joint venture in a statement, Tata Motors Managing Director Ravi Kant said on Monday that his company will hold 70 percent and Thonburi 30 percent, and will see an initial investment of Rs 120 crore. The joint venture will allow the Tata Motors access into the world's second largest pick up vehicle market in the world after the United States. The Thai market for this type of vehicles has been growing at 20 percent in the past three years with sales of 4.76 lakh units in 2005-6. The vehicles will also be exported to other potential markets in the region, he said adding though the Thai joint venture will start with just a single model there is a possibility of diversifying into more models of the pick up vehicles.
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