Ashok Leyland will strive to doubling its sales (of medium and heavy duty vehicles) in the next five years, aiming for a slot among the top ten truck companies in the world, the company's new Managing Director, Mr Vinod Dasari, told journalists here on Monday.

The company ended 2010-11 with sales of 94,100 vehicles, (900 units shy of its internal target for the year). That level of sales gives Ashok Leyland a rank of “close to 20” among global truck manufacturers.

The company's board envisions growing the company towards attaining a rank among the top ten truck companies in the world. “This will effectively mean doubling our current sales,” Mr Dasari, who took over as the Managing Director (from Mr R. Seshasayee) on Friday.

He observed in response to a question that the over-50-year-old Ashok Leyland was a young company. “Almost 80 per cent of what is made in Ashok Leyland is produced on machines that are less than five years old,” he said.

Mr Dasari said that Ashok Leyland would launch the ‘Avia' medium duty vehicles in in India in a year. Avia is a Czech Republic-based truck manufacturing company (which once belonged to Daewoo) that Ashok Leyland took over in 2006.

Last year, the company produced around 1,200 trucks, which represents about 20 per cent of its production capacity, but Mr Dasari said that sales are on the rise. In a year's time, Avia would be produced and sold in India too, he said.

Among the other ideas that Mr Dasari has for the company are efforts to promote the Ashok Leyland brand-and an entry into boat building.

Ashok Leyland-made marine engines power over 80 per cent of boats in the country. Therefore, an entry into boat building will be a march up the value chain.

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