UK-based Caparo Group is putting on hold indefinitely a plan to get into luxury bus making in India through a pact with Korean auto major Hyundai,citing unfavourable market conditions. "We were looking at it. We decided not to do it. Partly because the commercial vehicles got quite badly hit.," aparo Group Chief Executive Officer Angad Paul said. In 2008,Caparo had signed a technical pact with Hyundai to manufacture luxury buses in India. It had envisaged assembling 'Hyundai Aerobus' in India,initially from imported completely-knocked-down units and gradually introduce local components. Explaining the reasons for the change in the plans,he said: "I think it was really down to the fact (that) the market became very uncertain and to spend that kind of money in an uncertain market (was unviable)." After the downturn in 2008,the Indian automobile market had started looking up in second half of 2009. In January this year,a total of over 11 lakh units were sold,a record of the highest ever sales in a single month. According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM),while the domestic passenger car segment grew by 32.28 per cent at 1,45,905 units,the commercial vehicle sector zoomed by over two-fold to 53,447 units. "Passengers cars are going great. There is still a degree of uncertainty in commercial vehicles," Paul said.
