New Delhi, February 20, 2013: Commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland is firming up plans to launch a range of new CVs fitted with a brand-new cab. Designed in Italy and engineered in India and the UK, the cab will be introduced in the company’s tippers and tractors next year. The cab is also likely to be fitted in a complete new range of heavy CVs in the 16-tonne and above range set to be launched during July-October this year.
Speaking to Autocar Professional on the sidelines of the launch of its Luxura Magical India bus in New Delhi, managing director Vinod K Dasari said that among other upcoming models, the Avia vehicle range (which is manufactured at the Prague plant in the Czech Republic for the European market) will also be produced with a completely new weld line in India during June or July or even sooner.
Now, the Indian version will be produced at the company’s Pantnagar facility in Uttarakhand, customised for the local market. The Avia range is also pitted to replace the company’s Ecomet trucks in a phased manner once production goes on stream.
Regarding inking of new joint ventures for new products, Dasari said, “Right now we have got some things in the pipeline and are looking to grow in the CIS, Latin America and ASEAN countries. During the last two years, we focused on the Middle East and Africa and did well in these regions. So now we are expanding our horizons.”
Overseas, Ashok Leyland has a number of joint ventures, one of which is with the Ras-al-Khaimah Investment Authority in the United Arab Emirates that includes a vehicle assembly facility. The plant currently has a production capacity of 120 units per month, but since the Middle East market has been doing well Dasari says they are producing above the capacity limit at around 150 units per month right now. “We might expand the capacity further within a year, if the Middle East market continues to be so buoyant.”
The company acquired an about 75 percent stake in UK bus maker Optare that produces high-end buses worth 100,000 pounds sterling (Rs 84 lakh) each. Following the slowdown in Europe, Optare is on the recovery path and manufactures about 40-50 buses per month with hybrid versions sold in the UK. Recently, some good orders have been won from the English market with Optare buses finding a market mainly in the UK and Europe. But Dasari says now Optare is looking to expand beyond Europe to the US as well as other parts of Europe.
Meanwhile, the just-launched Luxura Magical India bus, a luxury bus on the lines of a private jet which can be chartered by corporates or travel enthusiasts, built on Ashok Leyland’s Luxura platform and designed by Dilip Chhabria, can accommodate nine people. It is equipped with reclining seats, a wi-fi-enabled entertainment system, an on-board spa with trained therapists, a kitchen and a washroom. The first Luxura bus will be operated by tour operator Mann Travels in Delhi. While the first Luxura bus project has been undertaken for a charitable cause, Ashok Leyland feels the bus will soon become an attractive business proposition for many tour operators.
On the sales numbers front, Ashok Leyland registered an overall growth of 2.53 percent with total sales of 10,561 units in January 2013 (M&HCVs: 6,863/ Dost SCV: 3,698). The company saw a sharp 25 percent decline in M&HCV sales: 6,863 units compared to 9,200 units in January 2012. Cumulatively too, M&HCV sales are down 14 percent to 62,955 units in January 2013 compared to 72,821 units a year ago. Overall cumulative sales though are up 18 percent, thanks to the sterling performance of the small commercial vehicle, the Dost which has contributed 27,571 units to the total sale of 90,546 units in the April 2012-January 2013 period.
SHOBHA MATHUR
Photograph: Ashok Leyland managing director Vinod K Dasari at the launch of the Luxura bus.