History
India’s first Prime Minister Nehru,
persuaded Raghunandan Saran, an industrialist, to enter automotive manufacture.
The company began in 1948 as Ashok Motors (named after his son Ashok), to
assemble Austin cars. The company was renamed and started manufacturing
commercial vehicles in 1955 with equity participation by Leyland Motors. Today
the company is the flagship of the Hinduja Group, a British-based and Indian
originated transnational conglomerate.
By 1963, the Comet was operated by every State Transport Undertaking
in India, and over 8,000 were in service. The Comet was soon joined in
production by a version of the Leyland Tiger.In 1968, production of the Leyland
Titan ceased in Britain, but was restarted by Ashok Leyland in India.
Over the years, Ashok Leyland
vehicles have built a reputation for reliability and ruggedness. This was
mainly due to the product design legacy carried over from British Leyland.
Ashok Leyland had a collaboration
with the Japanese company Hino Motors from whom the technology for the H-series
engines was bought. Many indigenous versions of H-series engine were developed
with 4 and 6 cylinder and also conforming to BS2 and BS3 emission norms in
India. These engines proved to be extremely popular with the customers
primarily for their excellent fuel efficiency. Most current models of Ashok
Leyland come with H-series engines.
In 1987, the overseas holding by Land
Rover Leyland International Holdings Limited (LRLIH) was taken over by a joint
venture between the Hinduja Group, the Non-Resident Indian transnational group
and IVECO Fiat SpA, part of the Fiat Group and Europe's leading truck
manufacturer. Ashok Leyland’s long-term plan to become a global player by
benchmarking global standards of technology and quality was soon firmed up.
Access to international technology and a US$200 million investment programme
created a state-of-the-art manufacturing base to roll out international class
products. This resulted in Ashok Leyland launching the 'Cargo' range of trucks
based on European Ford Cargo trucks. These vehicles used Iveco engines and for
the first time had factory-fitted cabs. Though the Cargo trucks are no longer
in production and the use of Iveco engine was discontinued, the cab continues
to be used on the 'ecomet' range of trucks.
In the journey towards global
standards of quality, Ashok Leyland reached a major milestone in 1993 when it
became the first in India's automobile history to win the ISO 9002
certification. The more comprehensive ISO 9001 certification came in 1994, QS
9000 in 1998 and ISO 14001 certification for all vehicle manufacturing units in
2002. In 2006, Ashok Leyland became the first automobile company in India to
receive the TS16949 Corporate Certification. Editor’s note: This is part of a
series of articles peeking into clean car industries and car manufacturers of
China, India, South Korea and Germany.
Among many other goals, Ashok
Leyland aims to expand its operations to penetrate into overseas markets.
Included in the company’s plans is to acquire smaller car manufacturers in
China and in other developing countries. In October 2006, Ashok Leyland bought
a majority stake in the Czech based- Avia. Called Avia Ashok Leyland Motors.,
this will give Ashok Leyland a channel into the competitive European market.
According to the company, in 2008 the joint venture sold 518 LCVs in Europe
despite tough economic conditions. Furthermore, the company will expand its
product offers into construction equipment, following a joint venture with John
Deere. Newly formed in June 2009, the John Deere partnership is a 50/50 split
between the companies. The company says negotiation is progressing on land
acquisition, and the production plans are in place. The venture is scheduled to
start rolling out wheel loaders and backhoe loaders in October 2010.
Aside from
the full expansion planned for the company, Ashok Leyland is also paying close
attention to the environment. In fact, they are one of the companies showing
the strongest commitment to environmental protection, utilizing eco-friendly
processes in their various plants. Even as they thrust into different
directions, Ashok Leyland maintains an R&D group that aims to uncover ways
to make their vehicles more fuel efficient and reduce emissions.
In fact, even before laws were
placed on car emissions, Ashok Leyland was already producing low-emission
vehicles. Back in 1997, they have already released buses with quiet engines and
low pollutant emission based on the CNG technology. In 2002 it developed the
first hybrid electric vehicle. Ashok Leyland has also launched a mobile
emission clinic that operates on highways and at entry points to New Delhi. The
clinic checks vehicles for emission levels, recommends remedies and offers tips
on maintenance and care. This work will help generate valuable data and garner
insight that will guide further development.
When it comes to the development
of environmentally friendly technologies, Ashok Leyland has developed Hythane
engines. In association with the Australian company Eden Energy, Ashok Leyland
successfully developed a 6-cylinder, 6-liter 92 kW BS-4 engine which uses
Hythane (H-CNG,) which is a blend of natural gas and around 20% of hydrogen.
Hydrogen helps improve the efficiency of the engine but the CNG aspect makes
sure that emissions are at a controlled level. A 4-cylinder 4-litre 63 KW engine
is also being developed for H-CNG blend in a joint R&D program with MNRE
(Ministry of New and Renewable Energy) and Indian Oil Corporation.
The H-CNG concept is now in full
swing, with more than 5,500 of the technology’s vehicles running around Delhi.
The company is also already discussing the wide-scale use of Hythane engines
with the Indian government. Hythane engines may be expected in the near future,
but these may not be brought to the United States as yet. Ashok Leyland’s
partnership with Nissan is also focusing on vehicle, powertrain, and technology
development listed under three joint ventures. With impressive investment, the
joint ventures will focus on producing trucks with diesel engines that meet
Euro 3 and Euro 4 emission standards.
In the coming years, Ashok
Leyland also has some hybrid trucks and buses in store for its market. The
buses and trucks are set to feature a new electronic shift-by-wire transmission
technology as well as electronic-controlled engine management for greater fuel
efficiency. Ashok Leyland focuses on improving fuel efficiency without
affecting automotive power, and the vehicles will have a 5% improvement on fuel
efficiency. Ashok Leyland is also developing electric batteries and bio-fuel
modes.
Ashok Leyland Ltd’s March quarter
results were expected to be impressive, as its monthly vehicle output reports
had indicated a 138% jump in volumes. But what impressed was its net profit
growth of 317%, to Rs223 crore, over the year-ago period, even as sales rose by
139%. Ashok Leyland’s operating profit margin rose to 13% compared with 10.5%.
Higher volume growth, a better product mix due to higher sales of multi-axle
vehicles and tractor trailers, and cost reduction were key reasons for margin
expansion. its estimate for volume growth in 2011 is conservative, at 15%
compared with over 30% in FY2010.
The company has also steadily gained market share, from
21-22% in the first quarter of 2010 to 28-29% in the fourth quarter. One
concern is that it is not yet a strong player in the eastern market. Besides,
the southern market, traditionally its stronghold, has grown by only 15% in
volume terms in 2010. The rest of India (mainly north and west) grew by 40%
during the year.
An Ashok Leyland-Nissan joint
venture produced light commercial vehicles (LCVs) from the former's Hosur
facility near Bangalore as well as from Renault-Nissan's car plant near Chennai.On
11 June 2012; Ashok Leyland supplied 100 Falcon buses to Ghana for $7.6 million
(about Rs 42 crore).
Facilities
- The company has seven manufacturing locations in India:
- Ennore and Hosur, Tamil nadu (Hosur - 1, Hosur - 2, CPPS)
- Alwar, Rajasthan
- Bhandara, Maharashtra
- Pantnagar, Uttarakhand
- Ashok Leyland's Technical Centre, at Vellivoyalchavadi (VVC) in the outskirts of Chennai, is a state-of-the-art product development facility, that apart from modern test tracks and component test labs, also houses India's one and only Six Poster testing equipment
- The company had an Engine Research and Development facility in Hosur, which was shifted to VVC, Chennai.
- The company has signed an agreement with Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (RAKIA) in UAE for setting up a bus body building unit in the Middle East.
Current status
Ashok Leyland is the second
technology leader in the commercial vehicles sector of India. The history of
the company has been punctuated by a number of technological innovations, which
have since become industry norms. It was the first to introduce multi-axled
trucks, full air brakes and a host of innovations like the rear engine and
articulated buses in India. In 1997, the company launched the country’s first
CNG bus and in 2002, developed the first Hybrid Electric Vehicle.
The company has also maintained
its profitable track record for 60 years. The annual turnover of the company
was USD 1.4 billion in 2008-09. Selling 54,431 medium and heavy vehicles in
2008-09, Ashok Leyland is India's largest exporter of medium and heavy duty
trucks. It is also one of the largest private sector employers in India - with
about 12,000 employees working in 6 factories and offices spread over the
length and breadth of India.
The company has increased its
rated capacity to 105,000 vehicles per annum. Also further investment plans
including putting up two new plants - one in Uttarakhand in North India and a
bus body building unit in middle-east Asia are fast afoot. It already has a
sizable presence in African countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt and South
Africa.
Ashok Leyland has also entered
into some significant partnerships, seizing growth opportunities offered by
diversification and globalization – with Continental Corporation for automotive
infotronics; with Alteams in Finland for high pressure die casting and
recently, with John Deere for construction equipment.
As part of this global strategy,
the company acquired Czech Republic-based Avia's truck business. The newly
acquired company has been named Avia Ashok Leyland Motors s.r.o. This gives
Ashok Leyland a foothold in the highly competitive European truck market.
In 2010 Ashok Leyland acquired a
26% stake in the British bus manufacturer Optare, a company based on the
premises of a former British Leyland subsidiary C.H.Roe. In December 2011 Ashok
Leyland increased its stake in Optare to 75.1%.
The Hinduja Group also bought out
IVECO's indirect stake in Ashok Leyland in 2007. The promoter shareholding now
stands at 51%. Leyland has a state of the art research and development center
at Vellivoyal Chavadi which is located near Chennai. Hinduja Group flagship
company Ashok Leyland has been awarded the first overseas order worth $6
million for its vestibule buses from Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC).
Nissan Ashok Leyland
In 2007, the company announced a
joint venture with Japanese auto giant Nissan (Renault Nissan Group) which will
share a common manufacturing facility in Chennai, India. The shareholding
structures of the three joint venture companies are:- Ashok Leyland Nissan Vehicles Pvt. Ltd., the vehicle manufacturing company will be owned 51% by Ashok Leyland and 49% by Nissan
- Nissan Ashok Leyland Powertrain Pvt. Ltd., the powertrain manufacturing company will be owned 51% by Nissan and 49% by Ashok Leyland
- Nissan Ashok Leyland Technologies Pvt. Ltd., the technology development company will be owned 50:50 by the two partners.
Dr. V. Sumantran, Executive Vice
Chairman of Hinduja Automotive Limited and a Director on the Board of Ashok
Leyland is the Chairman of the Powertrain company and he is on the Boards of
the other two JV companies. The venture, once it takes off, will be one of the
largest investments made in automotive field in the countryiBUS
Ashok Leyland announced iBUS in
the beginning of 2008, as part of the future for the country's increasingly
traffic-clogged major cities. Its Rs 60-lakh, iBus, a feature-filled, low-floor
concept bus for the metros revealed during the Auto Expo 2008 in India, a
vehicle for a first production run of pilot models should be ready by the end
of this year. The start of full production is scheduled for 2009. Developed
by a team of young engineers, the low-floored iBus will have the first of its
kind features, including anti-lock braking system, electronic engine management
and passenger infotainment.
The executive class has an airline like ambience
with wide LCD screens, reading lights, audio speakers and, for the first time,
Internet on the move. A GPS system enables vehicle tracking and display of
dynamic route information on LCD screens, which can also support infotainment
packages including live data and news. The bus will probably be equipped with
an engine from the new Neptune family, which Ashok Leyland also introduced at
this exhibition, which are ready for the BS4/Euro 4 emission regulations and
can be upgraded to Euro 5.U-Truck
Ashok Leyland, announced sale of
vehicles on the new U-Truck platform from November,2010 with the rolling out of
the first set of 10 models of tippers and tractor trailers in the 16 – 49-tonne
segment.Further, another 15 models are set to enter the market in the next 12
months.
Dost
DOST is a 1.25 ton light
commercial vehicle (LCV) that is the first product to be launched by the
Indian-Japanese commercial vehicle joint venture Ashok Leyland Nissan Vehicles.
Dost is powered by a 55 hp high-torque, 3-cylinder, turbo-charged Common
Rail Diesel engine and has a payload capacity of 1.25 Tonnes. It is available
in both BS3 and BS4 versions.
The LCV is being produced in Ashok Leyland's
plant in Tamil Nadu's Hosur. The LCV is available in three versions with the
top-end version featuring air-conditioning, power steering, dual-colour of a
beige-gray trim and fabric seats. With the launch of Dost Ashok Leyland has now
entered the Light Commercial Vehicle segment in IndiaAshok Leyland Defence Systems
An Indian
road-mobile launcher with a ballistic missile
Ashok Leyland Defence Systems (ALDS)
is a newly floated company by the Hinduja Group. Ashok Leyland, the flagship
company of Hinduja group, holds 26 percent in the newly formed Ashok Leyland
Defence Systems (ALDS). The newly floated company has a mandate to design and
develop defence logistics and tactical vehicles, defence communication and
other systems.Ashok Leyland is the largest supplier of logistics vehicles to the Indian Army.
It has supplied over 60,000 of its Stallion vehicles which form the Army's
logistics backbone.
