Commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland Ltd. (ALL) on Thursday rolled out AVTR, a new range of trucks on the modular platform using the i-Gen6 BS-VI technology.
“The launch marks a significant milestone in the company’s history and will define our future course as we set out to achieve our vision to be among the top 10 players in the commercial vehicle player creating reliable and differentiated product,” said Dheeraj Hinduja, chairman, Ashok Leyland, said through a video call.
While terming the new products as a game changer, he said: “AVTR will take our customers to the next level of trucking and they will reap the benefits of modularity.
“In line with our decision, the new range will not only provide reliability and quality, but will allow us to take our products to many international markets around us. This will allow us to demonstrate the global competitiveness of Made in India product across all parameters,” he said.
Asserting that the last 18 months were challenging for the industry, he said, “based on our current assessment, the next few quarters will continue to test our resilience. Well, it is going to be the new normal. We have decided to power on and launch these new products. Today’s launch is a testimony to adaptability and readiness to take on the future in our own turf.”
Mentioning that he had seen many downturns in the past, he said “we are leaving no stone unturned to re-look at our business model.”
The Hinduja Group company had invested ₹500 crore in the new modular platform and tested the vehicles on different terrains. The range will be produced at Ennore, Hosur and Pantnagar facilities.
Multiple options
The modular platform is a first-of-its-kind in the Indian CV industry with multiple options on a single platform for the entire range of rigid trucks, tippers and tractors in the 18.5 to 55-tonne category. This would enable customers to configure vehicles that are best-suited to their applications and business needs, said N. Saravanan, chief technology officer (CTO), Ashok Leyland.
“These trucks are designed by our customers and developed by us. With this launch, we have achieved the dual challenge of meeting the BS VI norms and development of a whole new platform, in one swift move. This gives us an edge not only in India but globally with its potential to switch between right hand drive and left hand drive,” said Vipin Sondhi, MD & CEO, Ashok Leyland.
To a question, Mr. Sondhi said currently only medium and heavy commercial vehicles were being produced using modular platform and it could be extended to buses in the future. Over the next 12-18 months, ALL plans to add 400 to 500 touchpoints across India.
Earlier, we used to be where the customers used to buy the vehicles and then moved to places where they operated. Now, we have moved to wherever the customers are. Our endeavour is to have at least one touch point every 50 km across India, said Anuj Kathuria, chief operating officer, ALL.