Electric-powered Dost likely in a year

Chennai, March 5, 2013: Ashok Leyland has said it may launch an electric Dost in a year’s time. Quoting EVP, Dr V Sumantran, a news daily, Business Line said the company had started work on the electric variant a couple of years ago. “This is now well in development,” the paper quoted Dr Sumantran as saying.

LCVs have been on a roll in India with products like the Tata Ace and the Dost bucking the slowdown in the commercial vehicle segment. Ashok Leyland entered the LCV segment in 2011 with the Dost which has sold 3,001 units in February 2013, a 90 percent increase over the 1,582 units sold in February 2012. With one month of the current fiscal to go, the Dost has sold 30,592 units between April 2012-January 2013, compared to 5,382 units sold in the year ago period.

Also on the cards are CNG and passenger versions of the Dost. Industry-wide, LCV sales rose 16 percent in the first 10 months of the current financial year.