“One of the best aspects at Pantnagar which is unique to Ashok Leyland is that we will build leaders for the future.”
Things at Ashok Leyland are going as per plan, and the market response for the company products so far this year is quite encouraging.
Striking an extremely optimistic note in a free-wheeling discussion covering important issues like the company’s growth strategy, the latest products and those to be launched, as well as the projects in the pipeline, Mr. Vinod K. Dasari, Managing Director of Ashok Leyland, told MOTORINDIA that his company is very well on the fast track. He also cleared several points raised during the discussion.
Excerpts:
MOTORINDIA (MI): It is a year since you launched the U-Truck. How is its performance?
Vinod Dasari (VD): U-Truck is doing very well. Almost all trucks will migrate to the U-Truck platform and the complete shift will happen two years from now when we will have a 100 per cent U-Truck platform. All U-Trucks come with a cabin, and there is a version of U-Truck with standard frame which will slowly be gauged out. All U-Trucks had 1½ years warranty at the time of launch, which has now been extended to two years.
MI: How is your growth across different segments?
VD: The tipper and LCV segments are doing extremely well. There is 25-30 per cent growth in the LCV segment. The tipper segment has crossed 50 per cent growth. Last year’s third quarter was not very good for us and the delayed launches this year are paying good dividends. The challenges faced and the efforts put in last year have borne fruits.
MI: It is learnt that you will be launching a few new products at the forthcoming Auto Expo. Which segments would you be covering?
VD: We have six new products for launch at Auto Expo – three LCVs, one bus and one truck and, may be another bus. The bus to be unveiled then will be a purely new model in the world, a modular one that. The truck too will most probably the first of its kind the in the world. We’re looking at shows across the world, we’ve not seen anything like it till now, but it is surely the first in India. The theme for the upcoming Auto Expo is ‘Mobility for all’, so this product will showcase India’s innovativeness and will be available in all combinations.
MI: What about the tractor-trailer segment?
VD: We have two new products, the 3518 and 4019, both with in-line pump. These are the only ones in the world where an in-line pump can achieve BS III. The engine was so good that Bosch took it to their 125 years celebration in Germany. Our tractor customers are very happy and there is tremendous pull for these products.
MI: Considering the good performance of the U-Truck, what do you think have been its USPs?
VD: Mileage, ride and frequency of trips are much better. In normal trucks, oil is changed at 30,000 km, then at 32,000 km, again at 40,000 km and so on. We’ve built this vehicle in such a way that the oil change is done only at 40,000 km, then at 80,000, and so on. Uptime of customer has increased. The only U-Truck element from the legacy was the cab, now that’s changing to the Next Gen cab. The cab is under test and will be released in October 2012.
MI: When is your new Neptune engine set to hit the market?
VD: The Neptune engine goes for high hp range. Currently the market works around 180 hp. There are engines providing 300 hp in the market now. We can launch 360-400 hp engines. They are ready. But we will launch them when the market demands it. The Neptune engines are replacing the other engines, the performance is great. N4 starts at around 180 hp, which is the peak range right now, while majority of the market is in 160-180 hp range. It consumes a lot of power and fuel, and considering our highway conditions, we cannot reach very high speeds anyway.
MI: November 2011 is known as the ‘Quality Month’ in your company. What does it signify?
VD: We are keen on growth maintenance, and this month, the aim is to have a quantum leap in growth. Every aspect of our operation, including business on a daily basis, product development, sourcing, manufacturing, vehicle storage and vehicle transport is changing and is given due care for quality maintenance and improvement. More importantly, it is the mind-set which is changing, with emerging global competition. India is a very tough market to enter as it is value-conscious.
MI: Could you throw some light on your performance outside India?
VD: We are exporting our bus chassis to Russia, Latin America and other countries. People in these countries wait for our in-demand chassis on which they build their bus. We will identify local partners, send chassis from here and build bodies locally. With the acquisition of Optare in the UK, we have the full range of body-built vehicles in all combinations – six metre or twelve metre, front engine or rear engine, air-conditioned or non-air-conditioned, diesel or CNG, low floor or low entry. We can enter any country and offer the full range to them.
MI: Considering a level playing field, any special plans for dealerships and service centres?
VD: We have more dealers in the north than in south India. Almost everyday we inaugurate a new dealership. We have invested a lot in dealer expansion in northern and eastern states. For instance, in Chattisgarh, we have a new dealership ‘Gulf Ashley’, which profited from the first month. We also have new dealers in Guwahati and Jamshedpur. Recently, a new driver training institute was opened at Udaipur and a new standard-floor, two-step, front-engine bus was launched with the Chief Minister of Delhi. Delhi Integrated Multi Modal Transit System Ltd. (DIMTS) vehicles are fully made by Ashok Leyland. In Maharashtra alone, we have set-up eight new dealers in the last year. The last two years have seen us add 50% more outlets. We also conduct a distinctive programme at many places called ‘Mileage Mukkablas’ where drivers compete among themselves on road and testify the efficiency and quality of an Ashok Leyland truck.
MI: What is the operating condition of your Pantnagar plant and what are your expansion plans?
VD: The Pantnagar plant is currently running at full capacity and has a lot of expansion plans. All truck platforms roll out from Pantnagar which is our highest producing plant with a production of 120 trucks per day. We are investing close to Rs. 500 crores for the same. We are creating a new press shop, which will be ready by June 2012, expanding the weld and engine shops and doubling the frame shop. The existing plant site is geologically interesting with four nearby sites having four different soils. We have 20 pumps pumping out water, and it is as though the building is on a floating bed. Plant extension is a continuous process and will keep going on. One of the best aspects at Pantnagar which is unique to Ashok Leyland is that we will build leaders for the future. We hire graduates and put them through a diploma course signed up with Nettur Technical Training Foundation (NTTF). They will be trained to become better-equipped as a worker and after five days of work, they will spend the sixth day in a training center. The training center with a robotic arm, CNC machine and electronics can be compared to an engineering school. And, for the very first time in any plant, they have set-up a girls’ hostel to house 150 girls, with complete onsite protection.
MI: With record sales of over 95,000 vehicles last year, how have you done this year?
VD: We are hoping to exceed a production level of 1,00,000 vehicles this year. With a number of players in the market, competition is hotting up. Hence the targeted growth is not so easy to attain, and our growth is determined mostly by our customer-oriented approach.