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Informist, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025

 

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--Ashok Leyland: Aim for 25% mkt share in 2-4 tn LCV segment in medium term
--Ashok Leyland: Aim for 20% mkt share in 2-4 tn LCV segment in near term
--CONTEXT: Comments by Ashok Leyland's mgmt in post-earnings analyst call
--Ashok Leyland: Aim to export 15,000 vehicles in FY25
--Ashok Leyland: Aim to export 25,000 units in next 2-3 yrs
--Ashok Leyland: See orders for up to 12,000 trucks in 3-4 yrs from defence
--Ashok Leyland: Electric vehicles mkt in UK subdued against expectations
--Ashok Leyland: Plan to launch new pdts in light commercial vehicle segment

 

By Avishek Rakshit & Akshita Kumar

 

KOLKATA/MUMBAI – Fifteen years after its foray into the light commercial vehicles segment, India's second-largest commercial vehicles maker, Ashok Leyland, is eyeing to increase its market share in the 2-4 tonne light commercial vehicles space to 25% by coming up with new products.

 

"In the shorter term we want to achieve 20% (market share), and then in the medium term we want to achieve 25%, but that is within the two to four tonne market," Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Shenu Agarwal, said Wednesday. Currently, sector analysts peg the company's market share in the 2-4 tonnes segment at nearly 11%.

 

Talking to sector analysts in a post-earnings conference call, Agarwal said the world's fourth-largest commercial vehicles company is working on expanding its product portfolio to cover atleast 80% of commercial light vehicles in the country.

 

Although its competitor Tata Motors Ltd. classifies trucks having a maximum gross vehicle weight of 3.5 metric tonnes and above until 15 metric tonnes as light commercial vehicles (LCVs), the general practice in the industry is to term vehicles having a gross weight between 2 tonnes and 7 tonnes as light commercial vehicles, or LCV, as the industry calls it.

 

Ashok Leyland's current LCV range comprises several variants of the Dost brand of mini-trucks, two variants of the Partner brand of goods carriers, and small buses. The company recently launched the Saathi brand of entry-level goods carrier at the Bharat Global Mobility Expo 2025. It also showcased a concept electric truck in the 7.5-tonne GVW range, a first in the segment, in the auto expo.

 

"We participate only in about 50% of the overall LCV market. Our goal is to cover about 80% of that market. Saathi is the first attempt where we are placing it as a premium product in the entry-level pickup truck market," Agarwal said. "You will see many more launches and many more products that will be coming in the future, which will take us from this 50% coverage to about 80% coverage."

 

Some of the products up for launch are currently under development, he said.

 

The top official said that commercial vehicle demand in the ongoing quarter, as well as in the first half of the upcoming financial year, looks positive. The company's total sales volume of commercial vehicles at 17,213 units during January, was up 8% as compared to the same month last year. However, on a cumulative basis, total sales volume during Apr-Jan was down by 1% on year at 153,134 units.

 

Agarwal said that export orders will grow in the coming months and the company is hopeful to see increased demand for vehicles from the Indian armed forces.

 

"In the long run, our target is to achieve 50,000 (export units). But in the medium run, we want to achieve a number of 25,000 units. This (financial) year we are hoping that we will end up close to 15,000 (export units)," the senior official told sector analysts.

 

Agarwal said that many of the 70,000 trucks operated by the Indian Army and the defence forces are beyond their productive age and hence will need replacement, which will generate demand for trucks.

 

"We expect that in the next three to four years, and this is what we are also hearing from the ministry that about 10,000 to 12,000 new trucks would be required. So that is what is building us our confidence. And some of these orders are also coming in as we speak," he said.

 

Shares of Ashok Leyland surged on the bourses after the company declared its Oct-Dec results. The company surprised the Street by reporting a sharp 31% on-year jump in its net profit for the December quarter to INR 7.6 billion as against the Street's projection of INR 6.7 billion. The revenue increased by 2% on year to INR 94.8 billion, also beating the Street's view of INR 90.5 billion.

 

Wednesday, shares of the company closed 7.7% higher at INR 219.35 on the National Stock Exchange. End

 

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

 

 

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