Three-wheeler maker Atul Auto on tuesday said it will foray into the four-wheeler commercial vehicle segment in the future and has already started scouting for land near Ahmedabad to set up a dedicated facility for it. "The Management of the company perceives that in the nearest future,the urban market would prefer to replace three -wheelers with ultra light commercial vehicles and it is primarily decided to explore the possibilities to get into manufacturing of small four-wheelers," Atul Auto said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The technical team of the company is currently evaluating the product configuration and the commercial aspects of the proposal,it added. The company,however,did not provide other details such as when the product is likely to hit the roads and how much investment it is putting in to develop the four-wheeler. In the meantime,the Rajkot-based firm has started exploring possibilities to acquire land near Ahmedabad as the area of its existing plant at Shapar will not be sufficient to cater to the requirements of the new product. "The company has started hunting for the land. on account of availabilities of skilled manpower in areas surrounding Ahmedabad,the company has decided to explore the possibilities of acquiring land in or around Ahmedabad," the filing said. The company,however,said the final decision on the project will be taken after evaluating all commercial,financial,legal and procedural aspects of the project. Earlier,Atul Auto had said it was willing to acquire the 95.38 per cent stake in Scooters India Ltd following the Cabinet's approval to sell the government's entire stake. The shares of Atul Auto today closed 2.73 per cent up to Rs 124 apiece on the BSE.
