Ashok Leyland Light Commercial Vehicle Business on Growth Path

Ashok Leyland, the Hinduja Group flagship, is on a growth path in its Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) Business. In April-December, FY 18-19, the LCV business of Ashok Leyland has grown a phenomenal 34% compared to similar period in FY 17-18. Aiding in fueling the growth is its rapidly expanding dealership and service network. Today, it inaugurated a new LCV dealership on Hosur Road (near Electronics city), Bengaluru, Karnataka. This is the 11th LCV dealership in the state. The new channel partner, Magnum Motors, has a 3S (Sales, Service and Spares) facility and has a state of the art showroom along with a workshop that is equipped with the latest equipment. This new dealership will add to the extensive LCV distribution network of over 500 touch points. The Company currently offers a range of LCV products - DOST, PARTNER and MiTR across the country through its exclusive, state of the art dealership outlets.

Speaking about LCV business and its network expansion, Mr. Nitin Seth, President - LCV, Ashok Leyland, said, “Ashok Leyland products are considered the best in class in terms of fuel efficiency, comfort and safety, and ahead of competition in terms of quality, reliability and technology. This is reason for the runaway success of ‘DOST’ and now ‘DOST+’. All our products have been receiving encouraging response from our customers, including customers from Bengaluru region. Our products were conceived and launched to meet the evolving needs of Indian LCV customers who are very cost sensitive. Our LCV family of customers has now grown to over 2,00,000, across India. We are extremely proud that our track record of service retention levels is exemplary with close to 80% of our customers returning to our dealer workshops, even after the warranty period. In line with our brand philosophy, Aapki Jeet Hamari Jeet, we will remain committed to maintaining and even enhancing the level of customer service and satisfaction.”

He further added, “We will be focusing to fill the gaps in future, but with the focus on 2.5 ton to 7.5-ton GVW trucks and 13 to 40 seats in bus. We are already in the process of investing Rs 400 crore towards the development of new LCV platforms. Once new products start coming in, we are aiming to substantially increase our market share from the current 18%. We will introduce the models starting from April 2020. This will coincide with the BS-VI emission norms implementation and the new models will be EV-compliant from the beginning, and hence we are also ready for the likely EV shift.”

Ashok Leyland LCV portfolio:

Ashok Leyland currently has three products, namely, DOST 2.5-2.75 ton GVW, PARTNER 6.0-7.2 ton GVW and MiTR bus 27 - 40 seat variants. Soon, Left-hand drive (LHD) versions of the products will be introduced for export where 80 per cent of the market is dominated by LCVs. The short-term goal of the Company is to reach 100,000 vehicles per annum by 2022. DOST, PARTNER and MiTR are manufactured at Ashok Leyland’s state-of-the-art Hosur plant.

DOST, Ashok Leyland’s SCV (Small Commercial Vehicle) range includes DOST LiTE, DOST STRONG and DOST+ to cater to different sections of the market and applications.

PARTNER, a modern and highly fuel-efficient load carrier, caters to the 4 ton payload segment and is available in both 4 tyre and 6 tyre options. It comes with Load body options of 10ft, 11ft, 14ft and 17ft. PARTNER is based on an internationally acclaimed vehicle platform and carries the renowned ZD30 CRDI engine.

MiTR bus, based on the same platform as PARTNER, comes in both standard bus and school bus options. It provides superior mileage even in stop and go conditions. MiTR School Bus complies with all school bus safety norms and compliance codes and offers unmatched ride comfort.