Automaker Premier Limited launched a compact Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV), the RiO, this week. Placed between mid-sized passenger cars and larger utility vehicles, the RiO is priced at Rs 5.25-5.95 lakh (ex-showroom, Pune). Chairman and Managing Director of Premier Ltd, Mr Maitreya Doshi, said at the launch ceremony that the vehicle was targeted at fun-loving, small families looking for multi-utility vehicles. The RiO will be assembled at Premier’s Pune plant, and its components and kits will be supplied by the Zotye Group, a Chinese carmaker. Mr Doshi said that an investment of Rs 100 crore had been made at the Pune plant to put up the necessary infrastructure for assembling the RiO.
Premier Automobiles, established in 1944 by Walchand Hirachand, is one of the first Indian auto companies. For a long time, however, it has limited itself to making LCVs. With the RiO, it hopes to make a successful comeback into the passenger vehicle segment.
