Strengthening its grip on the medium duty segment bus segment in the country, Ashok Leyland has announced that it has received orders for nearly 3,600 buses from various state transport undertakings (STUs). These orders are to be executed in the current financial year.

Ashok Leyland currently has the highest market share (44.63%) in the medium and heavy bus segment and in 2015-16 gained nearly 9% market share. It sold a total of 19,586 units in 2015-16  as against 13,151 units in the previous fiscal.

In FY2015-16, the overall M&HCV bus segment registered growth of 19.1% with total sales of 43,885 units in which medium duty buses saw a sales growth of 32.8% YoY. In comparison, the LCV bus segment grew by just 5%.

For FY2016-17, the outlook for the M&HCV bus segment remains favorable in view of demand from SRTUs, initiative like smart city programmes and demand from the inter-city segment.

Commenting on the new order, Vinod K Dasari, managing director, Ashok Leyland said, “We continue to maintain growth in the domestic M&HCV market and believe that the industry should post 15% to 20% growth in the current financial year. Ashok Leyland will continue to expand its network, launch new products, and introduce customer-centric initiatives which would help it to maintain its lead. The focus on exports, defence, and aftermarket continues.”

In the domestic market, Ashok Leyland’s share in the trucks segment rose marginally to 30.1% against 29.2% in Q1 2016-17 as compared to the same period the previous fiscal. In the domestic buses segment, the company has increased its market share from 33.2% to 35.9 percent in Q1. In the overall M&HCV segment, volumes have increased by 18.6% as compared to the industry growth of 14.5%. 

In June 2016, Ashok Leyland posted growth of 7% in the overall CV segment by selling 11,108 units compared to 10,429 units in the same period the previous fiscal. However, while M&HCVs have seen 8% growth, LCV sales remained flat last month.

In the April-June 2016 quarter, the company saw double-digit growth of 11% with total sales of 31,165 units against the same period last year. M&HCV numbers were up 12% while LCV sales rose 7%.

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