Sonalika Group on Wednesday unveiled its two-litre multi-utility vehicle 'Rhino' with an entry-price of Rs 5.45 lakh and said it has offloaded 20 per cent stake in its subsidiary International Cars and Motors Ltd to Citibank.
The company, which has set up a Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) plant in Himachal Pradesh for manufacturing the MUVs in technological collaboration with the UK's MG Rover, said it hoped to sell 5,000-6,000 units of the vehicle in the first year itself.
Sonalika Group chief L D Mittal said the company was also developing a hydrogen-powered four-wheeler in collaboration with Banaras Hindu University.
The company is sourcing engines from Hindustan Motors for the Rhino. The other two models of the vehicle are priced at Rs 5.95 lakh and Rs 6.85 lakh respectively. Mittal said the excise duty and income tax breaks at Himachal Pradesh helped the company keep the price of the vehicle under control.
On the divestment plans, he said Citibank has picked up 20 per cent stake in ICML in addition to the 10 per cent stake it has in another group company International Tractors Ltd.
"Apart from this, another investment group from the UK will pick up an additional ten per cent stake in both the companies," he added.
