Ashok Leyland-Nissan JV to open new plant by 2015-16

Bangalore, April 16, 2013: The upcoming manufacturing facility of the Ashok Leyland-Nissan joint venture in Pillaipakkam, 40km off Chennai, will go on stream by 2015-16. Talking to Autocar Professional in Bangalore on April 13, Dr V Sumantran, vice-chairman of Ashok Leyland, said the joint venture has acquired around 380 acres of land in Pillaipakkam. The new plant will have a manufacturing capacity of 200,000 units per annum.

When the plant finally begins humming, it will finally mean the fruition of the MoU the two companies had signed with the government of Tamil Nadu on September 8, 2008 for acquiring the land at Pillaipakkam. The MoU had said that the integrated plant will be utilised to set up the vehicle and powertrain manufacturing facilities and a technology development unit for the three companies (Ashok Leyland Nissan Vehicles; Nissan Ashok Leyland Powertrain; and Nissan Ashok Leyland Technologies) of the joint venture that was formed in May 2008.

The companies will manufacture four vehicles -- two LCVs and two MPVs -- in the new plant. The small commercial vehicle Dost, light commercial vehicle Partner, and the badge-engineered MPVs Stile (by Ashok Leyland) and Evalia (by Nissan) will be manufactured in the new production facility, said Dr Sumantran, who was in Bangalore to inaugurate the company’s new LCV dealership, Pride Motors. The Stile and Evalia are based on the Nissan NV200. While the Evalia is sold through Nissan’s passenger vehicle dealership network, the Stile will be made available through Ashok Leyland’s LCV retail network.

Currently, the Dost rolls out from the Ashok Leyland plant in Hosur in Tamil Nadu while the Evalia is produced in Nissan’s Oragadam plant near Chennai. The Stile MPV is expected to roll out before Diwali (November 2013) from the Oragadam plant while the six-tonne Partner is likely to hit the roads in the fourth quarter of the current fiscal 2013-14 with 3-4 tonne payload capacity, he added. The Partner will be initially manufactured at Ashok Leyland’s Hosur plant.

The company’s focus on the LCV sector follows the success of its 2.5-tonne Dost which has sold a cumulative 34,917 units in 2012-13. With a new dealership network of 100, the company is pitching for a pan-India presence for the Dost as well as kicking off exports. At the same time, plans are underway to augment its LCV portfolio with CNG and passenger versions of the Dost.

The LCV sector has been among the few to buck the market slowdown in India. In 2012-13, light goods carriers notched 15.88 percent growth, selling 476,734 units (2011-12: 411,415).

In 2011, Ashok Leyland and Nissan had earmarked a Rs 2,500 crore investment programme to roll out products and carry out other related activities in India. “So far we have spent less than half of the proposed investment. We will be completely spending this investment by 2015-16 when the new plant goes on stream,” Dr Sumantran revealed.

While the initial portion of the investment has been employed at Ashok Leyland’s Hosur facility and Nissan’s Oragadam plant, the balance will go towards the new plant in Pillaipakkam and to develop new products by the joint venture.

JAISHANKAR JAYARAMIAH

Photograph: Dr V Sumantran, executive vice-chairman of Hinduja Automotive, and chairman, Nissan Ashok Leyland Powertrain and Dr Andy Palmer, executive vice-president, Nissan Motor Co and chairman, Ashok Leyland Nissan Vehicles, celebrate the launch of the Dost on September 22, 2011.