Ashok Leyland Board Clears Rs 325 Crore for Optare, Rs 500 Crore for Housing Arm

Money again earmarked for loan repayment, even as U.K. the U.K. subsidiary's top line nearly tripled in two years.

By Shahkar Abidi

14 Aug 2026

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Ashok Leyland Board Clears Rs 325 Crore for Optare, Rs 500 Crore for Housing Arm

Ashok Leyland's board approved investments of up to Rs 825 crore across two subsidiaries on Friday, splitting the outlay between its UK bus and electric vehicle holding company and the Hinduja group's affordable housing lender, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The commercial vehicle maker will put up to GBP 25 million, or about Rs 325 crore, into Optare Plc as equity, and up to Rs 500 crore into Hinduja Housing Finance Ltd. through a secondary purchase of shares from Hinduja Leyland Finance Ltd. Both will be settled in cash, in one or more tranches, and completed by March 31, 2027. Neither requires regulatory approval.

Optare, incorporated in 2008, manufactures buses and commercial vehicles and is the holding company for Ashok Leyland's EV initiatives, Switch Mobility Ltd., U.K., and Switch Mobility Automotive Ltd.

Optare's consolidated revenue reached Rs 1,879.11 crore in FY26, against Rs 1,213.41 crore in FY25 and Rs 696.38 crore in FY24.