Ashok Leyland domestic sales up 23% at 22,885 units in March

Hinduja Group's flagship firm Ashok Leyland on Monday reported a 23 percent increase in domestic commercial vehicle sales to 22,885 units in March, led by healthy fleet utilisation driven by infrastructure demand and pre-buying before the OBD-2 transition.

The company had sold 18,556 units in the same month last year, Ashok Leyland said in a release. Medium and heavy commercial vehicle sales rose 25 percent to 15,936 units last month, compared to 12,734 units in the year-ago month in the domestic market. Higher tonnage vehicle sales increased as mining activity increased, the overall macroeconomic environment improved, and fleet utilisation levels remained healthy.

Sales of light commercial vehicles in the domestic market were up 19 percent at 6,949 units, compared with 5,822 units in March 2022, the company said.

The company's total sales (domestic plus exports) increased by 19 percent to 23,926 units in the last month, as compared to 20,123 units in the same period last year.

According to a Nomura report, industry demand is seeing an increase in infrastructure spending and pre-buying ahead of Bharat Stage VI Phase 2. "However, we see supply constraints due to a model changeover and expect 10 percent year-on-year growth in FY24," the report added.