'Ashok Leyland looks to drive in models with alternate fuel options in next 3-5 years'
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.
PTI
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CHENNAI: Commercial vehicle major Ashok Leyland plans to roll out its entire product range with alternate fuel options over the next 3-5 years to cater to different sets of customers, according to its Chairman Dheeraj Hinduja.
The Hinduja group flagship, the country's second-largest commercial vehicle maker, also plans to grow its business in the international markets. In an interaction with PTI on the sidelines of an event to launch its latest range of electric light commercial vehicles range, Hinduja said that besides electric and CNG trims, the company is looking at all kinds of alternate fuels like hydrogen, ethanol etc to power its model range going ahead.
''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.
Hinduja listed out the focus areas for the company over the mid-term as Ashok Leyland completes 75 years in the business.
Commemorating its 75th year of operations, the company unveiled a new range of electric light commercial vehicles for last-mile transportation. The Switch IeV series aims to provide eco-friendly solutions to MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises), cottage industries, and the e-commerce sector.
Hinduja said the company plans to start sales of the product range in January next year. Ashok Leyland is also looking to commence exports from the next financial year, with the first shipments expected to go into Bangladesh.
Hinduja said the demand for the new range remains robust in the domestic and export markets. ''Many cities around the world are looking for similar types of last-mile transportation. So, our endeavour 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 kilometres and a payload of up to 1.7 tonnes. 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.
