German commercial vehicle giant MAN Nutzfahrzeuge (Munich; www.man.de) and its long term cooperation partner Force Motors (Pune / India; www.forcemotors.com) have officially sealed their agreement for a 30:70 joint venture, MAN Force Trucks, to produce heavy trucks (16 tonnes and above) for the Asian and African markets. The jv is investing EUR 150m in a production plant at Pithampur / India.

Plans call for a medium-term capacity of 24,000 trucks a year, with the first vehicles expected to roll off the assembly line in October 2006. There are no plans to export to Europe. The aim is to source 90% of the components for the vehicles from local production and suppliers by the end of this year. MAN is targeting cost savings of up to 30% compared with material costs in Germany. The partners also have a letter of intent to extend the cooperation to bus production.

"India is the market of the future," a MAN spokesman commented to PIE, adding that the company has no plans for further investment in neighbouring China. In an Indian interview, heavy trucks division general manager Karl Viktor Schaller remarked that there is "no legal grievance redressal for infringement on our products" in the People´s Republic.