Ashok Leyland Set to Commence Construction on Greenfield Factory in Uttar Pradesh in the Upcoming Fiscal Year

Ashok Leyland, a prominent player in the truck and bus manufacturing industry, is gearing up to initiate the construction of its greenfield factory in Uttar Pradesh (UP) in the early months of the upcoming fiscal year. The proposed integrated manufacturing facility is slated to be established partially on the grounds of the now-defunct Scooters India in Lucknow, strategically located near the airport. The Hinduja flagship company plans to invest a substantial amount of ₹1,000 crore over a phased timeline.

Shenu Agarwal, the Managing Director and CEO of Ashok Leyland, shared insights on the project, stating, "We expect to finalize the land area before the end of this fiscal, and the construction work will start within a couple of months after that." The new facility is set to produce both electric and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, encompassing electric buses, electric light commercial vehicles, and vehicles powered by diverse fuels such as diesel, CNG, and hydrogen. The initial production capacity of the plant is targeted at 2,500 buses per year.

The substantial investment for this venture will be shouldered by Ashok Leyland, and the factory will serve the needs of both Ashok Leyland and Switch Mobility, the electric vehicle (EV) arm of the company. Agarwal explained the choice of Uttar Pradesh as the location, stating, "We have seen various States’ policies, incentives, schemes... We felt UP will become a significant market in the future for EVs as the State has ambitious net-zero targets."

While the company is in the process of developing new suppliers for the factory, some suppliers are already established, having supplied to Tata Motors, which operates a factory in Lucknow. Additionally, some of Ashok Leyland’s existing suppliers are situated in Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) or Alwar (Rajasthan).

The establishment of the Uttar Pradesh factory is anticipated to contribute significantly to Ashok Leyland's nationwide growth strategy, further positioning the company in the dynamic landscape of the Indian automotive industry.

HBL