We are close to the final announcement on our CEO: Dheeraj Hinduja

The financiers are now willing to come and lend for the vehicles and that is a very positive signal. I wouldn’t write off that pre-buying will not happen. Still, there are five months to go and there could be every chance of market seeing revival. May be Q1 of next fiscal would be slow due to the introduction of BS VI technology and the market adjustments to that. But Q2 onwards, I think the market will revive quite strongly.

Not really. If we’re hesitant in any manner, we would not be showcasing and announcing it five months ahead of time. We have done all our testing on our vehicles. Though it was a short development, we have achieved quite a lot within the short span. Our sister company Albonair has been working on SCR solutions with global OEMs and that experience is with us, while our proven iEGR technology is also with us. So our new Mid-NOx solution combines the best of both.

Also in my view, road conditions and driving habits are different in India and hence one can’t say I have got BS VI engine I will put it here. As far as we are concerned, we have worked with a number of companies including Hino, with whom we had collaboration in the past. We have also worked with a lot of international consultants. I am very confident that our BS VI solutions are made for India and Indian customers.

Just like we were mandated that all OEMs should be ready, all oil companies have also been mandated to make sure that BS VI fuel is available. Now in NCR, BS VI fuel is already available. I am sure oil companies will ensure there is no deficiency in BS VI fuel availability. I don’t see a problem there.

We are preparing for big launches in LCV. Over the last three years, the LCV business has not only transformed in a very significant and positive manner, but it has also increased market share to 18.5 per cent in its segment. We currently play in a very niche segment of the LCV market and we address only 34 per cent of the market. In March 2020, we will be unveiling our new products in the LCV range and with that, we should be able to address 55 per cent and then 65 per cent of the LCV market. This will be a game-changer as far as AL is concerned.

I don’t see BS VI leading to any structural changes in the market. But I do find that as a result of axle load norms and GST introduction, the turnaround time for the long haul vehicle has improved substantially. So the volume or the number of long haul might see a slight dip and the volumes that they had in the past will not be there. But they are carrying more loads and that is the structural change I see.

We made our position very clear. The family wants to see all companies professionally managed. As per legislation, you cannot have a combined Chairman and CEO role from April 1. So that separation has to happen. I would say the board and the committee have done a search and they looked at both internal and external candidates. We are close to the final announcement of our new CEO. I hope the Board will announce their decision well before the deadline.

He will be joining our Corporate Centre towards the end of the month. He will be involved in Ashok Leyland from the perspective of monitoring the activities, looking at growth avenues etc.

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