Ashok Leyland confirms 8, 14.5-tonne offerings for Boss ICV range

Chennai, October 16, 2013: Ashok Leyland commercially launched its latest range in the Boss Intermediary Commercial Vehicle (ICV) segment. Slotted right above the Partner vehicle (part of the Ashok Leyland-Nissan range), the Boss caters to the second largest truck segment in the country. The vehicle is available in LX and LE variants that will be positioned in the 9.6T, 11.9T and 12.9T GVW segments.

The lower-powered LE variant will start with a price tag of Rs 10.5 lakh and the LX, at Rs 12 lakh. The commercial launch follows a soft-launch in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, last month. Vinod Dasari, managing director, confirmed that two more products in the Boss’ range, an 8-tonne and a 14.5-tonne model will be launched in “three to six months’ time from now.”

He added, “We have made every investment to ensure that the Boss delivers on quality, durability and reliability. We are confident of making significant headway in the fast-growing ICV market with the Boss.” The ICV segment has grown at a rapid rate even as the higher segments are witnessing a slowdown. Less than four years ago, the ICV segment in 2008-09 stood at around 28,000 units per annum. In 2012-13, this has doubled to 57,000 vehicles per annum.

“The Boss is completely localised,” said Dasari. There are also export plans in place for the Boss, in the form of its mother platform, the Avia. “We will export it to both LHD and RHD markets, beginning with the Middle-East. We have already made seed exports to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh,” he added. There are also plans to export only the cab and chassis to the Avia plant in Prague, where a suitable drivetrain and engine will be fitted before offering it for sale in Europe. The same will be done for the US market as well, Dasari said.

“We had a market share of four percent in the ICV segment five years ago. Currently, it stands at 11 percent,” said Dasari. With its Pantnagar facility churning out 100 Boss trucks a day, there is much more in terms of market share for Ashok Leyland to gain in the coming times.

KARTHIK H

Photograph (L-S): Sandeep Agarwal, head, ICV business; Vinod Dasari, managing director and Dr Venkat Srinivas, head - truck product development at the launch in Chennai.