By Satnam Singh
CORRESPONDENT
Published: February 17, 2014 10:04 am ET
Updated: February 17, 2014 11:25 am ET
NEW DELHI — Automotive light maker Autolite (India) Ltd. plans to expand rapidly in India and China by setting-up new plants in fiscal 2014-15.
"We are planning to invest around $7 million in India and China plants," said Adarsh Mahipal Gupta, director of marketing for the Jaipur, India-based company, at the recent 12 Auto Expo in New Delhi.
Autolite looks at China as a key growth market. The company has had a warehouse in Shanghai. The company, which produces lights under the brand Autopal, wants to buy an existing plant in China.
Autolite has seven manufacturing plants in India, and expects to finalize plans for an eighth in the second half of 2015. That plant will be operations in the first half of 2015.
The company has strong presence in the commercial vehicle segment customers including Tata Motors, M&M, Ashok Leyland, Force Motors, Varroc and Volvo Eicher.
"We are now focusing on widening our base in the car segment also. We have been recently approved by Tata and we are now aggressively promoting our … range among the major OEMs and hope to be approved shortly by M&M and Maruti Suzuki for current and future launches," Gupta said.
Listed at Mumbai stock exchange Autolite makes head lamps, work lamps, LED lamps, fog lamps, turn signal lamps, halogen bulbs, incandescent bulbs and miniature bulbs. It recently invested around $4 million to expand a plant in Pant Nagar, India, which is dedicated to Tata Motors. | 
