- UM to end partnership with Lohia
- Will relaunch new company called UM+
- Plans to setup a new plant in Hyderabad
UM has decided to end its alliance with Lohia Auto. An official announcement on this will be made in the next few weeks. The partnership that was forged in 2014 didn’t work as expected, given that both the companies failed to take corrective measures to improve business conditions in the country.
UM will relaunch a new entity by the name ‘UM+’ by September and will setup a new plant in Hyderabad. It’s still not clear if the company plans to setup an alliance once again, however, according to our sources, the company has managed to attract some investors.
Post the formation of the new company, the company would ask the dealers to resign from UML and enter into fresh agreement with UM+. Business aspects like pending advances, claims and warranties will be transferred to the new company. The dealers we spoke with aren’t happy with the entire UM episode, and are yet to decide if they would like to be part of this new entity. The first course of action is to be BS-VI ready, along with the improvement of its dealer support program and spare parts supply. Post this, the company would venture out to new cities and expand its footprint.
Over the last few months, a lot of UM dealerships had to shut down as the company didn’t have any ABS bike ready. As a result of this, dealers couldn’t sell any bikes as their investment was stuck in various warranty claims.
