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Informist, Thursday, May 28, 2026

--Ashok Leyland: Pickup in govt capex lifted medium-heavy CV sales in Q4
--CONTEXT: Comments by Ashok Leyland at post-earnings press conference
--Ashok Leyland: Demand for CVs resilient despite ongoing uncertainties
--Ashok Leyland: Don't see immediate shift to EVs despite diesel price hike
--Ashok Leyland: See capex for FY27 at INR 8 bln-INR 10 bln
--Ashok Leyland: See Ras-Al-Khaimah unit working full capacity June onwards
--Ashok Leyland: Defence ops orderbook at record high of over INR 15 bln
--Ashok Leyland: Will focus more on selling CVs in ASEAN countries next
--Ashok Leyland: Don't see exports overtaking Indian volumes in short run
--Ashok Leyland: Export sales will grow significantly in coming years
--Ashok Leyland: Don't see hydrogen becoming alternate fuel in India for now
 

NEW DELHI/KOLKATA – Ashok Leyland Ltd. will focus on exporting commercial vehicles to more countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. "Our next home market that we want to target is ASEAN. It is not Europe or the UK yet," the company's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Shenu Agarwal told reporters at a post-earnings press conference.

"You may have noticed that we have already signed an MoU (memorandum of understanding) with a local Indonesian company, which is called PT Pindad," Agarwal said. "This company intends to work with us in future, not only on the defence side but also on the electric vehicle side," he added. The company is focused on growing its current three 'home' markets, including countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council and Africa.

Despite the strong overseas showing, the company does not expect exports to overtake domestic sales in the short term. "So over the next three to five years, you will see volumes growing quite significantly in international operations," Executive Chairman Dheeraj G. Hinduja said. "But irrespective of what we do, the Indian market will continue to be the dominant one," Hinduja said.

Ashok Leyland sold 220,437 commercial vehicles in 2025-26 (Apr-Mar), up 13% on year. Of this, exports grew nearly 19% on year to 18,082 units. The Chennai-based automaker said domestic commercial vehicle sales grew due to a pickup in government capital expenditure and improved consumption after the cut in goods and services tax.  

"We are progressing well on export volume with a target of 25,000 units in the medium term, and we have strengthened our capabilities in alternate fuel technologies," the company said. "Looking forward, we are cautious of global uncertainties, but we are confident of navigating these based on the strong foundations we have built over the last few years," it added.

The demand for commercial vehicles has been resilient despite the ongoing geopolitical uncertainties, Agarwal said. "... also the fact that the ageing of the fleet is at its ever-highest, we see a strong resilience in the CV industry. Now the CV industry upswing just started, like a few quarters back," Agarwal said. Ashok Leyland intends to incur a capital expenditure of INR 8 billion to INR 10 billion in the ongoing financial year. 

The war in West Asia has led to a sharp rise in global crude oil prices, prompting hikes in diesel and petrol prices in India. The company said that this shift hasn't resulted in an immediate shift towards electric commercial vehicles. "I wouldn't say that it has led to a substantial change, but there is a lot more interest towards it," Hinduja said.

Ashok Leyland has a vehicle manufacturing facility in Ras Al Khaimah, the UAE. The company manufactures commercial buses, light commercial vehicles, and trucks, among other products. The unit has faced some production challenges since late March. "Now things are coming to normalcy, mainly on account of labour and some supply chain issues were there because we had to even take out some people from the factory to safer areas because of some of the incidents that happened around the factory," the company said.  

Ashok Leyland expects its Ras Al Khaimah unit to start production at full capacity from June. Demand for commercial vehicles there remains strong, the company said.

The automaker also has a presence in the defence segment. According to Agarwal, the segment currently has its highest-ever order book. "I can tell you that it is upwards of INR 1,500 crore (INR 15 billion) as of now. This gives us a lot of strength, you know, in kind of growing our defence mobility business in the next few years," he said. The company expects to receive more orders in this segment this year and next year. 

Ashok Leyland offers commercial vehicles in multiple powertrains. One among them is hydrogen. However, given its nascent and expensive nature, the company does not expect it to become the main alternative to diesel in the coming years. "Hydrogen is a good alternative and option for long-distance, but it is still a very expensive alternative. So even when you look at some of the more mature markets, Europe, the US, hydrogen is going to still take time to really stabilise as an alternative," Hinduja said. Ashok Leyland continues to see it as a long-term opportunity.

For the March quarter, Ashok Leyland reported a net profit of INR 14.05 billion on revenues of INR 141.60 billion. On Wednesday, its shares closed 1.9% higher at INR 163.62 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

Reported by Anand JC and Avishek Rakshit

Edited by Saji George Titus

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