Ashok Leyland Advances Network Expansion in North and East, Confirms Official

Ashok Leyland, a leading heavy commercial vehicle manufacturer, has outlined expansion plans for its network in the North and Eastern regions of India, according to a top company official.

The Hinduja Group flagship company is also gearing up to introduce its electric light commercial vehicles (LCVs) within the next few months.

In the first nine months of the financial year ending December 31, 2023, Ashok Leyland reported its highest turnover of Rs 27,100 crore, highest sales volume at 1,38,416 units, EBITDA of Rs. 3,014 crore, and Profit After Tax of Rs. 1,718 crore.

"We have started performing well in the North and East zones, which have traditionally been our weaker markets. There is ample room for further growth. We are making good progress on our network expansion plans, especially in the North and East zones," said Shenu Agarwal, Managing Director of the company.

To fuel its network expansion, Ashok Leyland has partnered with the diversified conglomerate TVS Group.

"We have tied up with the TVS Group, with whom we enjoy a long-standing partnership in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, to represent us in the National Capital Region. We aim to launch several new outlets in this region within the next few months," Agarwal stated during a recent call with analysts.

The company has added 37 authorized service centers and 44 dealers for the medium and heavy commercial vehicle business in the first three quarters of the year.

"Now, we have a total of 399 authorized service centers and 491 dealers throughout the country. We aim to increase this number to 1,000 in the future," Agarwal added.

Agarwal highlighted the importance of the company's electric vehicle arm, Switch Mobility, for future-proofing Ashok Leyland. In October-December 2023, Ashok Leyland invested Rs. 662 crore of the total equity investment of Rs. 1,200 crore approved by the Board in Optare PLC, United Kingdom.

"AL (Ashok Leyland) will be injecting the remaining equity in more than one tranche over the next few months," Agarwal said.

The balance sheet of Ashok Leyland is strong enough to support the vision of electrification of buses and light commercial vehicles under the Switch brand.

"I am pleased to share that Switch products are performing extremely well in the market. We are excited to begin delivering our first batch of electric LCVs within the next few months," Agarwal concluded.

BS