Rumour: Force Motors to discontinue Force One SUV

Force Motors is reported to be considering an exit from the SUV segment in the coming months. The company’s only SUV - Force One, was launched in 2011, but failed to make an impact in the market.

The Force One is built at Force Motors' Pithampur plant in Madhya Pradesh. The vehicle was launched at a price of Rs. 10.65 lakh and new variants were introduced in 2013, including a cheaper variant, priced at Rs. 8.99 lakh. In 2014, a 4x4 variant was introduced at a price of Rs. 13.98 lakh. However, the vehicle failed to draw customers to the showrooms and could not dent sales of established players such as the Mahindra Scorpio.

Between November 2011 and January 2016, Force Motors has managed to move only 3,008 units of the SUV. The company had targeted sales of 4,000 units in the first year itself. 

Force Motors is now planning to focus on the utility vehicle (UV) and light commercial vehicle (LCV) segments. The company will keep selling the Gurkha off-roader and plans to introduce a new version of the vehicle based on a new platform. It has also launched new models in the UV and van segments.

The company is also building engines, axles and transmissions for luxury carmakers such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW (link to news article).

Source: Autocar Professional