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Force Motors Ltd is an Indian multinational automotive manufacturing company, based in
Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...
. From 1958 until 2005, the company was known as Bajaj Tempo Motors because it originated as a joint venture between
Bajaj Auto Bajaj Auto Limited ( ) is an Indian multinational automotive manufacturing company based in Pune. It manufactures motorcycles, scooters and auto rickshaws. Bajaj Auto is a part of the Bajaj Group. It was founded by Jamnalal Bajaj (1889–19 ...
and Germany's
Tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
for manufacturing auto components. The company is known for brands, like the Traveller, Trax, Urbania, Gurkha, Citiline and Monobus. Over the last six decades 958? it has partnered with global manufacturers, such as Mercedes,
BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
,
Rolls Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
Daimler Daimler is a German surname. It may refer to: People * Gottlieb Daimler (1834–1900), German inventor, industrialist and namesake of a series of automobile companies * Adolf Daimler (1871–1913), engineer and son of Gottlieb Daimler * Paul Da ...
, ZF, Bosch, VW,
Traton , type = Public , traded_as = {{ubl , {{FWB, 8TRA , MDAX , ISIN = {{ISIN, sl=n, pl=y, DE000TRAT0N7 , industry = Automotive , genre = , fate = , predecessor = Volkswagen Group's heavy vehicle operations , successor = , founded = {{st ...
and
MAN A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the f ...
, for manufacturing auto components. Force Motors is India's largest
van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or ...
maker. The company is completely vertically integrated, making its own components for the entire product range. Force Motors has a nationwide dealer presence. The company also exports to various countries in
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,
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,
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and
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countries,
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and Germany. Force Motors ranked 317th (2024) on the
Fortune India 500 The ''Fortune India'' 500 is a ranking of the top 500 corporations in India compiled on the basis of latest sales and gross revenue figures. The list is published annually by ''Fortune'' magazine. ''Fortune India'' is ''Fortune'' sixth internati ...
companies list.


History

Force Motors was founded in 1958 by N. K. Firodia. Aside from manufacturing light transport vehicles, Force Motors also makes engines and axles, as well as a large variety of die-cast aluminium parts. The foundation of Bajaj Tempo originates with the Bajaj Trading Corporation (now Bajaj Auto), which was established in 1945. Bajaj started assembling three-wheeled
auto rickshaw An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many other terms in various countries, including three-wheeler, Adaidaita Sahu, Keke-napep, Maruwa, auto, ...
s and small trucks in 1951, under license from
Tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
of
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. In 1958, the companies announced the creation of a joint venture, called the Bajaj Tempo Motors, with 26 percent of the shares belonging to Tempo. In 1968, the Firodia Group took a majority stake in Bajaj Tempo. In 1971, Tempo (Germany) passed into the hands of
Daimler-Benz Mercedes-Benz Group AG (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler, and Daimler) is a Germany, German Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive company headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is o ...
, who retained a 16.8 percent share in Bajaj Tempo until 2001. Daimler sold its stake in April 2001 after 43 years citing little synergy between the two companies. The Tempo Matador was the first diesel light commercial vehicle in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. The company started production of Tempo Hanseat three-wheelers in collaboration with the Vidal & Sohn Tempo Werke Germany in 1958. The word ''Tempo'' (a registered
trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...
of Daimler) is now generic for any small goods carrier in India. In 1987, Force Motors set up a new plant at
Pithampur Pithampur is a town near Dhar city in the Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh, India. Pithampur is an industrial city, and is a part of Indore Metropolitan Region. Pithampur houses major industries and companies of Madhya Pradesh. Demographics As ...
in
Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...
, for the production of Tempo Traveller. This plant was designed and built to the specification of Daimler-Benz. In 1997, Daimler asked it to set up a dedicated facility for assembling and testing engines for Mercedes passenger cars to be made in India. In 2005, the company was renamed Force Motors. Force Motors signed technology sourcing agreements in 2003 with
MAN SE MAN SE (abbreviation of ''Maschinenfabrik Augsburg- Nürnberg'', ) was a manufacturing and engineering company based in Munich, Germany. Its primary output was commercial vehicles and diesel engines through its MAN Truck & Bus and MAN Latin ...
for which payments were made up front. On completion of the localization of the licensed technology and with the request from MAN, a joint venture was created forming MAN Force Trucks Pvt. Ltd to manufacture the full range of HCVs from 16t GVW to 49t GCW. MAN proceeded to buy out Force and MAN Trucks India was established as a separate concern in 2012. In 2012, Force Motors launched ''Traveller 26'', a monocoque panel van that can seat 26 persons, designed entirely in-house. It had disk brakes on all four wheels and also came with safety features like ABS and EBD. In 2015, the company was awarded a contract by
BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
, resulting in a new facility in Chennai which produces and test engines and transmissions exclusively for all
BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
cars and SUVs made in India. This plant can produce up to 20,000 engines per year. The facility was completed in July 2015. A new plant was inaugurated at
Chakan, Pune Chakan (Pronunciation: ͡saːkəɳ is a city and municipal council in Pune district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The Chakan is also part of Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority. Chakan is one of the largest automobile and manu ...
in June 2016. This facility assembles and tests engines for all Mercedes Cars and SUVs made in India. The new plant has a current annual capacity of 20,000 engines and 20,000 front and rear axles. In March 2018, Force Motors entered into a joint-venture agreement with
Rolls-Royce Power Systems Rolls-Royce Power Systems AG (formerly Tognum AG) is a German company owned by Rolls-Royce Holdings with holdings in engine manufacturing brands and facilities. The company previously traded, from 2006 to 2014, as Tognum AG. Prior to 2006, the ...
AG to manufacture the 10- and 12-cylinder Series 1600 engines (545 hp to 1050 hp) in India for worldwide supply. These engines are meant for power generation and under floor rail applications.


Products

Force Motors manufactures a range of vehicles including Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV), Multi Utility Vehicles (MUV), Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs). Light Commercial vehicles * Force Traveller range of vehicles (including Traveller 26, School Bus, Ambulance, Quick Response Vehicle, Royale) * Force Monobus * Force Urbania * Matador (Discontinued) Small Commercial Vehicles * Shaktiman 200 * Shaktiman 400 * Tempo Hanseat (Discontinued) * Tempo Excel (Discontinued) * Minidor (Discontinued) Multi Utility Vehicles * All-new
Force Trax The Trax is a series of "Multi Utility Vehicles" (MUVs) built by Force Motors in Pune, India (the company was called "Bajaj Tempo" at the time of introduction). There has also been an SUV version called the Gama, especially aimed at private buye ...
(including Toofan, Cruiser, Cruiser Deluxe) * Kargo King Grand * Trax Delivery Van * Trax Ambulance * Citiline * Trax Gama (Discontinued) * Tempo Trax Judo (Discontinued) * Tempo Trax Pickup (Discontinued) Agricultural vehicles * Balwan tractors (Discontinued) * Orchard tractors (Discontinued) * Sanman Tractors (Discontinued) * Abhiman Tractors (Discontinued) Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) * Force One SUV (Discontinued) *
Force Gurkha The Force Gurkha is a compact SUV produced by Indian manufacturer Force Motors. The original and second generation Gurkha are produced as two-door SUVs with options of a removable hard or soft top. Standard equipment includes mechanical differe ...


References


External links

* {{Automotive industry in India Truck manufacturers of India Indian brands Indian companies established in 1958 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1958 Car brands 1958 establishments in Bombay State Companies listed on the National Stock Exchange of India Companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange Car manufacturers of India Companies based in Pune