If you talk about affordable off-roaders present in the Indian automobile, you could head Force Gurkha from a majority of people. The car has amazing capabilities and is one of the ultimate off-roaders and after almost 3 years of gap, the SUV is back in business. Yes, for three years the car was out of the limelight and now it is back with a bang.
The strongest attribute of the Gurkha is its off-road technology which is borrowed from the much popular SUV from Mercedes-Benz’s stable, the Mercedes G-Class. Unlike the latter which carries a price tag of a mind boggling Rs. 1.1 crore, the Gurkha costs less than one tenth of G Wagon’s price.
Prasan Firodia, managing director, Force Motors said,
“The Gurkha is the ultimate off-roader for India. We never had the front end for a Gurkha customer. We have moved on from a passenger mover vehicle maker through commercial vehicles to a personal commute vehicle provider with the Force One and expect to consolidate this with new models. Gurkha would be one of the first vehicles to make a comeback. We are ramping up our capacities and preparing our network on the ground. So the numbers have been small but it will grow quickly,”
image – Force Trax Gurkha (image credits)
Initially when Gurkha was launched, it gained popularity but soon a handful of problem arose which were serious let downs and eventually resulted in the discontinuation of the vehicle. Major problems include lack of availability resulting it extra long waiting periods and dissatisfactory servicing.
The managing director, Firodia blames the less number of dealerships for all this but now that they are busy ramping up the their dealership and sales network, the hopes are high. At lucrative price points of under Rs. 10 Lakh for a robust off-roader, the Gurkha does make a very strong care for itself among the SUV lovers and off-roaders.
Force Motors is also planning to launch a multi utility van that will go against the likes of Toyota Innova and Mahindra Xylo . We really hope the new dealership and sales network does help the brand come over the obstacles. We will keep you posted on the latest updates, stay tuned.
Source – HT
