According to its Chairman Dheeraj Hinduja, commercial vehicle giant Ashok Leyland intends to introduce its entire product line with alternative fuel options over the next three to five years to cater to various customer groups. The second-largest producer of commercial vehicles in the nation, the Hinduja group flagship, also has expansion plans for the international markets.
In an interview on the sidelines of a launch event for its newest line of electric light commercial vehicles, Hinduja stated that the company is considering a variety of alternative fuels, such as hydrogen, ethanol, and others, in addition to electric and CNG trims, to power its model lineup going forward.
“So, the priority is to make sure that our full range becomes available in all different alternate fuel types. Whatever the customer might require,” Hinduja said. A leading manufacturer of buses, trucks and light commercial vehicles, the Chennai-based company is also looking to enhance its international play by entering more markets, he said. “I think an internal aspiration also is to continue our growth and our market share. We’ve seen a good upward trend over the last 1.5-2 years. We continue to build upon this, but we want to do this in a profitable manner,” Hinduja said.
The company is not going to take part in the “discounting wars” in the market, he noted. “Our main concern is to make sure that the customer gets the right product at the best price…a lot of the focus is also on internal things like cost reduction in operations,” he stated. For FY23, Ashok Leyland’s revenue from operations rose to Rs 41,673 crore compared to Rs 26,237 crore in FY22.
In light of Ashok Leyland’s 75th anniversary as a company, Hinduja outlined the company’s mid-term focus areas. The business unveiled a new lineup of electric light commercial vehicles for last-mile transportation to mark its 75th year in business. The Switch IeV series aims to offer eco-friendly solutions to cottage industries, e-commerce, and MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises).
According to Hinduja, the business intends to begin selling the product line in January of next year. Ashok Leyland intends to start exporting as of the following fiscal year, with the initial shipments anticipated to go to Bangladesh. According to Hinduja, both the domestic and international markets continue to see strong demand for the new range.
“Many cities around the world are looking for similar types of last-mile transportation. So, our endeavor is definitely in the long run to start exports as our production starts ramping up,” he noted. Switch IeV Series comes with a driving range of up to 300 kilometers and a payload of up to 1.7 tons. Ashok Leyland will roll out the range from its Hosur (Tamil Nadu) based plant. “Ashok Leyland’s 75-year journey is a story of transformation and innovation…We have set our sights on pioneering sustainable transportation solutions and aim to support India’s economic development for years to come,” Hinduja stated.
