Kolkata: In a surprise move, C K Birla company Hindustan Motors (HM) has launched what it calls the first 'Chinese vehicle' in India.

HM has launched a mini-truck -- HM-Shifeng Winner, produced under licence from Shandong Shifeng in the Shandong province of China.
 
The vehicle priced below Rs 4 lakh will be imported in a knocked-down form from China.

HM executives say that the 2.3-tonne HM Shifeng Winner can carry a 1-tonne payload and would be completely built at HM's Uttarpara plant.

While HM will supply the power unit and drive train, its Chinese counterpart will supply cable harnesses and chasis components. HM will introduce two more variants of the mini-truck with the liklihood of a CNG-powered version for the Delhi region making an appearance within 6-8 weeks. A third variant might be launched by March 2009.

HM's Uttarpara plant last witnessed a launch in 1983 when it introduced the Contessa sedan. The last HM vehicle to be launched was the RTV in 1998 from its Pithampur plant.

The vehicle has a 1489cc diesel engine, which produces 26.5 KW power and 73NM torque driving through a 4-speed gear box, using disc front brakes and leaf springs.

HM is targeting up to 60 vehicles per day to begin with, at its Uttarpara facility near Kolkata and will compete against the extremely successful Tata Motor Ace.

The HM Shifeng Winner has already received approval from the Automotive Research Association of India.

The Chinese company Shandong Shifeng has a turnover of $800 million and a market share of 40 per cent in mainland China. The company has nine factories and exports vehicles to the US, West Asia, Europe, Africa and South-East Asia.

According to HM managing director R Santhanam the vehicle would be launched across India in nine months. HM would use the Winner, existing models and some redesigned versions to achieve full production capacity at the Uttarpara plant.

HM claimed that the Chinese vehicle offers interiors and vibration levels similar to those in cars and meet the BS-III norms.

Santhanam said the Uttarpara plant has a production capacity of 24,000 units a year, but was underutilized. He said the plant can produce at least 1,000 vehicles a month in each shift on one assembly line, but production is flexible and can be augmented, depending on the market demand and financing options.

A company representative said, ''The Uttarpara plant will manufacture 1,000 mini-trucks a month and will use the idle capacity ever since sales of the Ambassador car began to shrink following the entry of Maruti Udyog some 25-odd years ago.''

Santhanam acknowledged that the Ambassador car now sold only 11000 units a year and had been reduced to a niche product in an extremely competitive market.

Santhanam said the company would henceforth concentrate on commercial vehicles and supply of ancillary parts to auto manufacturers, rebutting speculation of the coompany's plans to foray into the passenger segment under the HM badge.

He added hat the company would continue to assemble Mitsubishi line of products from the Chennai plant and aid that the company would remain focused on the existing product line (Ambassador), ancillary and commercial mini-trucks with the Chinese partner.