Ashok Leyland has bagged an order for 400 units of it Eagle 916 minibuses from Senbus Industries, a company assembling urban buses in Dakar, Senegal. The company has signed a contract valued at 10.06 million euros (Rs 83 crore). The company says this order comes on the back of the successful operation of 475 buses to Senegal’s Dakar Dem Dikk.

This project will provide mobility solutions to the country by expanding reach and covering the remote areas through AFTU, a leading private bus association of operator groups that run buses extensively across Senegal.

Arijit Dutta Chowdhury, vice president –project and defense sales, international operations, Ashok Leyland, said, “Ashok Leyland has been at the forefront of providing public transportation and to offer world-class solutions to Senegal. We are very pleased to receive this order from Senbus Industries. This order will be a starting phase to connect rural remote areas of Senegal to urban cities and to promote sustainable mobility. This will further empower the private transport sector in Senegal under AFTU.”

A special aspect of this project is that Senbus Industries will be supplied with Semi Knocked Down buses and the Indian bus manufacturer will be collaborating with Senbus on assembling them locally in Senegal. Ashok Leyland’s team of engineers will work extensively with the skilled team at Senbus for vehicle assembly, delivering high-quality finished products and aftersales support. A full-fledged workshop is also being planned at Dakar by Senbus Industries.

Ashok Leyland claims that the Eagle 916 bus is a strong and sturdy platform, which has been developed exclusively for Africa. Featuring inline pump with Euro III emission norms, extensive on-road product trials have been carried out with various customers in Africa. The capital of Senegal will start receiving buses towards the end of June this year. 

Ashok Leyland is currently the fourth largest manufacturer of buses in the world and India’s largest bus manufacturer. This order would further consolidate its leadership position.

Also read: Ashok Leyland maintains leadership in heavy-duty buses in FY2019