The Hindu Business Line : ‘Hino’s India plans will not affect Ashok Leyland’

Snapshot
Ashok Leyland uses two ranges of Hino engines for its vehicles – the H series and the J series.
The company intends to raise its capacity from 80,000 at present to “more than 1,80,000 vehicles” over the next four years.

M. Ramesh

Chennai, June 28 Ashok Leyland, which uses Hino’s engines on some of its vehicles, says that the proposed entry of the Japanese company into India will not affect the existing technology arrangements.

“It is a free market, anybody can set up operations here,” Ashok Leyland’s Managing Director, Mr R. Seshasayee, told Business Line today, when asked for a comment on Hino Motors’ proposal for setting up a com mercial vehicles unit in India.

Ashok Leyland uses two ranges of Hino engines for its vehicles – the H series and the J series. While high-power the J series engines are produced under a technology licence from Hino, on the H series “we are our own”.

Asked if Ashok Leyland could be making Hino engines for the Japanese company’s India-made commercial vehicles, he said that no discussion had taken place on this point between Ashok Leyland and Hino.

Annual report

The company’s annual report for 2006-07 notes that after “the withdrawal of IVECO (of Italy) as an equity partner in the holding company, Ashok Leyland is pursuing a policy of self-reliance.” Asked to elaborate on this, Mr Seshasayee said that the statement only meant that Ashok Leyland was in full command of technology.

Notes the annual report: “After upgrading the H series engine platform (with the help of a European engine consultancy organisation) to meet the Bharat Stage (BS) III regulation, the company is now upgrading the platform to meet Euro 4 (BS IV) emission requirements. The company has also commenced the independent development of a new engine platform to meet future requirements.”

Capacity expansion

The company intends to raise its capacity from 80,000 at present to “more than 1,80,000 vehicles” over the next four years.

At the upcoming plant at Uttaranchal, Ashok Leyland will produce 50,000 vehicles. At “a new location near Chennai” the company will put up an integrated vehicle manufacturing facility for 1,00,000 vehicles. Since current vehicle assembly operations at Hosur will shift to the new location, the effective increase in vehicle capacity will be 1,00,000.

For the expansion and for “investments in joint ventures and/or other acquisitions in the areas of auto components, design and engineering services”, the company would spend Rs 5,100 crore over the next five years.

Mr Subir Raha, former Chairman and Managing Director of ONGC, is set to join Ashok Leyland board.

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