Hinduja Group flagship company Ashok Leyland is targeting the sale of about 55,000 units of its DOST small commercial vehicle nationally by 2012.

The production capacity of the plant where DOST is manufactured is being enhanced to 55,000 units by next year, Hinduja Automotive Ltd Executive Vice-Chairman and Nissan Ashok Leyland Powertrain Ltd Chairman V Sumantra told reporters here after the launch of DOST in Kerala.

On export plans, Mr Sumantran said there have been requests from three overseas markets. But the company’s first priority was to cater to the domestic market, he said.

Dealers were seeing very good demand in places where DOST has been launched, he claimed.

Competitively priced between Rs 3.79 lakh and Rs 4.38 lakh (ex-showroom Kochi), depending on the variant, DOST will be sold through a modern dealership network with brand new infrastructure, which will grow to 60 main nodes by the end of the current fiscal.

The new vehicle, which has a payload capacity of 1.25 tonnes, is available in three versions, with the top-end version featuring air conditioning, power steering, dual-colour beige gray trim and fabric seats.

DOST marks the company’s entry into the Small Commercial Vehicle (SCV) market (below 3.5-tonne), which is witnessing a perceptible upward shift in terms of features, performance and payload, Ashok Leyland Executive Director Nitin Seth said.

The vehicle has been launched in all the southern states, Maharashtra and Gujarat and will be made available across the country in a phased manner, he added.

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