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MOTORINDIA
l
June 2012
market-size in the country, Ashok
Leyland, enjoying 65 per cent of the
specific market in the South, was
tested when the south market fell by
17 per cent. The 4x2 haulage seg-
ment in the South, in which it had
70 per cent share, dropped by 15 per
cent. Finally the company’s weak-
est segment, the ICV goods carrier
where it has less than 10 per cent
share, surprisingly grew by 25 per
cent.
Commenting on the challenges on
the domestic front, Mr. Dasari said
that more could have been achieved.
“We were hit from many sides. Our
strongest market – South – was de-
pressed. Also, segments like ICV in
which we are not too strong grew
substantially. However, we have re-
bounded. We gained market share in
March ’12 and continued the good
showing in April and hope to keep
up this momentum”.
Although the company increased
its market share in the central region
for the first time and in the Tipper
and ICV segments, growth in other
segments was muted.
Avia Ashok Leyland in Prague,
the company’s Czech wing, doubled
its sales in 2011 from the previous
year and currently exports vehicles
to the US with CIS and Middle
East being potential targets. Ashok
Leyland’s Ras-al-Khaimah facility
which was set up two years ago has
reached its full capacity of four bus-
es per day. The company had com-
pleted acquisition of Optare, after it
had raised its stake to 75.1 per cent
in the UK company. The acquisi-
tion gave Ashok Leyland access to
Optare’s plant at Leeds, capable of
making 40 to 50 buses per month.
The U-Truck range
has been a big success in
the market with the 4923, 2523
and 3123 performing extremely
well. The company’s new Neptune
series engine has been impressive in
trials and is likely to be launched in
a few months. The new cab will also
be available in the market by the end
of the current fiscal.
The company is confident of con-
tinuing its strong performance in
the coming year, betting on its new
products scheduled to hit the roads,
of which the Jan Bus, the world’s
first front-engine, single-step entry,
fully-flat bus, is definitely one to
watch out for.
About the prospects for 2012-13,
Mr. Dasari said: “We feel the full
year volumes would grow as there
are signs of robust growth in some
segments. We also have a number of
innovative products ready to roll out
like the Jan Bus and the 10x2 and
with a new thrust to our brand build-
ing efforts with our new Brand Am-
bassador, Mahendra Singh Dhoni,
the coming year should be an inter-
esting one for us.”
vehicle zone
The U-Truck range has been a
big success in the market with
the 4923, 2523 and 3123 per-
forming extremely well.
Focus on Truck industry