Automotive Axles Ltd. (AAL) has enjoyed a very long and successful relationship with Ashok Leyland. There is mutual respect between the two companies.
Mr. Baba Kalyani, AAL Chairman, in his inaugural remarks, made a special mention of Mr. Ram Shahaney, Chairman Emeritus of Ashok Leyland, who was his mentor when he started AAL. “Ashok Leyland gave us tremendous support from the initial years till today, and I am very happy that Mr. Vinod Dasari is here with us representing Ashok Leyland at the highest level”.
Till 1980 AL was manufacturing axles in-house. In 1981, the company launched the first trucks with axles supplied by AAL.
Mr. Vinod Dasari, Managing Director of Ashok Leyland, said: “AL is the largest customer of AAL, and at the same time AAL is the single largest supplier for AL. We have grown together over the last 3 decades. In every single new vehicle that AL has launched, AAL was the first axle of choice and continues to be so. Today, the first of the U-Truck range, all of them, have been launched with Meritor axles”.
Mr. Dasari also observed: “In 2007, when AL acquired AVIA in the Czech Republic, we wanted to do so some localisation, and the first thing we did was to change the axle. Today axles are supplied by AAL directly to AVIA. Avia Ashok Leyland also supplies chassis to Smith electric vehicles of the US, the largest manufacturer of electric vehicles, and all these chassis carry a Meritor axle supplied from India”.
