Premier to re-enter passenger vehicle segment with a compact SUV
October 20, 2009
Automaker Premier Ltd, formerly known as Premier Automobiles Ltd, has said that it plans to re-enter the passenger vehicle segment and will launch a compact sports utility vehicle (SUV) 'Rio' next week.
In a release to the Bombay Stock Exchange, Premier said deliveries of the vehicle are expected to start by December.
Premier Padmini, a reincarnation of the Fiat 1100, was one the most famous models of Premier Automobiles in India during the 1990s.
Mumbai-based Premier has been absent from the passenger car segment after Fiat Uno and the failed collaboration with Peugeot in 2001. The company also tried to make a comeback in 2004 with a new diesel van called Sigma, loosely based on Mitsubishi Varica from the 1980s.
At present, Premier manufactures CNC machine tools for both batch and mass production besides offering machine components to other automobile companies in India. The company also has a light commercial vehicles division which makes ‘Roadster’ mini trucks based on a compact Mitsubishi design. –Aditya Kshirsagar [email protected]