The name in the Indian Auto Industry that has gone unnoticed despite being present in the country for decades is the Pune based Force Motors. The company is present in the country since 1958; however, it never remained in the limelight. It was earlier named as Firodia Tempo Ltd. and then Bajaj Tempo Ltd. after being partially acquired by Bajaj Auto, which was later changed to Force Motors.
Force Motors is the manufacturer of multi-utility and cross country vehicles, three wheelers, tractors, buses light commercial vehicles, and even heavy commercial vehicles. The chairman of the company is Abhay N. Firodia whereas Prasan Firodia is the Managing director.
Force Motors has traditionally been the manufacturer of commercial vehicles; however, it launched its first personal vehicle Force-One on 19th August 2011. The renowned Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachhan is the brand ambassador for this car.
Though the company never hit the news, its market share can be understood from the fact that its revenue in 2011 was Rs. 1480 crore, while the net income was Rs. 58.6 crore. The company provides employment to around 7,000 people in the country and holds a significant position among the auto makers of India.
Force Motors on October 31 came up with the first of its kind 26-seater Monocoque panel van named as Traveller-26. "It is the world's first 26-seater monocoque panel van loaded with several new features in mid bus segment," N K Rattan, COO Sales and Marketing, Force Motors, told reporters. Another company official said that the company aims to sell 1,000 units by March 2013 and a total of 4,500 vehicles in the next financial year.
Force Motors presently has 173 dealers and 46 authorised service centres across the country, which it plans to raise to 225 and 65, respectively in the next few years. The auto maker despite having a strong dealership network and presence in a large number of segments has not been able to make its name like M&M, Tata and Maruti because Force Motors has mainly been the manufacturer of Commercial vehicles. However, now that the company has entered the personal vehicle segment, and has a brand Ambassador like Amitabh Bachhan, it is likely that the unnoticed Force Motors would be seen hitting the headlines.
