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Informist, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026

 

By Anand JC

 

NEW DELHI – Commercial vehicle sales growth is expected to continue in the coming months despite the high base effect, driven by government policies, renewed infrastructure expenditure, and replacement demand, Ashok Leyland Ltd.'s President and Chief Operating Officer Ganesh Mani told Informist Tuesday. "Last year has been a phenomenal one. We expect the same amount of growth going forward," he said. 

 

Ashok Leyland is sitting on a "very huge" number of replacement orders, Mani said, adding that government policies are helping. The Central government has been promoting electric bus sales through policies such as the PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement, or the PM E-Drive scheme, and the PM e-Bus Sewa-Payment Security Mechanism scheme. The government has deployed 5,299 electric buses under the PM E-Drive scheme as of Jul. 31. The PM e-Bus Sewa scheme covered 27,555 e-buses as of Jul. 10.

 

"This is about India's growth story. It has been doing great, which I believe will continue to have an impact (on commercial vehicle sales)," Mani said, adding that the company's results for the June quarter provide a clear indication of the expected growth going forward. "A renewed infrastructure spend (by the government) and also all the other replacement market is actually driving a much bigger trend," he said. 

 

Mani is also the Chief Executive Officer of its electric-vehicle arm, Switch Mobility India. The company recently bagged an order for 650 electric buses. It has an order book of 2,100 electric buses. 

 

When asked about new entrants in the electric bus space, Mani said the company's key focus is to compete and win orders, regardless of the competition. "That is what our process is all about. We will continue to put our efforts to work towards differentiation of products," he said. The company is also focusing on improving product quality and efficiency as it has to serve the customer over 12 years – the replacement loop where medium and heavy trucks reach the end of their optimal operational lifespan, triggering a massive wave of mandatory or economically driven structural demand.

 

Demand for commercial vehicles has held up so far in 2026-27 (Apr-Mar). The company sold 89,391 commercial vehicles in Apr-Aug, up 20% year on year. Of this, medium and heavy commercial vehicle sales improved 18% on year to 55,413 units, while light commercial vehicle sales grew 23% to 33,978 units.

 

On Wednesday, Ashok Leyland's shares ended 1.5% lower at INR 167.90 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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