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Ashok Leyland has set up a technical centre in the UK to strengthen R&D and address new markets in South America and Africa.
Established at a technology park in Warwickshire, the centre will help Ashok Leyland develop capabilities to build products that are on par with stringent European standards and draw on the region’s wealth of technical skills, said Sam Burman, Chief Technology Officer, in e-mailed responses to Business Line .
The tech centre will serve as a hub for future products with enhanced safety features for which there isn’t sufficient know-how in India, whereas European manufacturers have been refining these features for a long time, said Burman. “We envisage a growing demand for products with enhanced safety features and high levels of customisation. Vehicle electronics will also start to play a more crucial role in overall product development.”
The company will hire 30 people at the tech centre. It is looking for professionals specialising in safety features such as airbags and roll-over protection cabs, and homologation (certifying a vehicle is road-worthy after it meets mandatory specifications) of trucks and buses for new markets in South America such as Brazil, Peru, Chile, Bolivia and in Africa.
The commercial vehicle maker currently exports to over 30 countries in SAARC markets of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, West Asia, Africa and the CIS. Its revenue from international operations (Rs 1,600 crore) has doubled over the last two years.
The UK Tech Centre is a part of Ashok Leyland’s overall R&D initiatives, said Burman.
The company’s R&D spend in 2011-12 was 2.8 per cent of the turnover.
The global benchmark is 3-4 per cent. It has a technical research centre in Chennai, employing 1,200 people and catering to the domestic market.
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