The Hindu Business Line : Leyland heavy haulage vehicle sales up

Hyderabad, Aug. 21 Heightened activities in the construction and mining sectors and cement uptake have boosted the sales of heavy haulage vehicles and tipper business in an otherwise slightly subdued market for commercial sales, according to Mr Rajive Saharia, Executive Director, Marketing, Ashok Leyland Ltd.

He said that the company expects overall volumes to grow to about 80,000 this year up from 75,000 last year, despite the challenges of higher costs — due to steel prices going up by 60 per cent and high interest rates impacting overall sales volumes.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Mr Saharia said the first half this year has been quite challenging but buoyancy in construction and mining sectors has lead to higher volumes.

To this “we have also added low body passenger luxury buses, which have received good response from States like Andhra Pradesh.”

The company executive also hinted at the launch of three to four models, including in the heavy haulage multi-axle segment, over the next few months.

Expansion project

Asked about the company expansion project in North, Mr Saharia said that the new plant in Uttaranchal will come up in about 18 months.

Referring to smaller commercial vehicles, he said that this segment will be addressed by the recently created venture with Nissan.

“Andhra Pradesh has been a major contributor to the company’s sales, contributing about 14,200 vehicles last year and had registered a growth of about 30 per cent over previous year,” Mr Rajiv M. Sanghvi, Executive Director of Automotive Manufacturers, said.

Service facility

Earlier, Mr Saharia commissioned one of the largest service facilities in the country —which is spread over a five-acre site at Kompally near Hyderabad.

Automotive Manufacturers invested Rs 4 crore in creating this facility, their third in the State, with the objective of offering round-the-clock service.

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