Shenu Agarwal, managing director and chief executive officer of Ashok Leyland, has been elected president of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers for the 2026-27 term.
The decision was finalised at a meeting of SIAM's Executive Committee during the industry body's annual convention on Thursday, the industry body said.
Agarwal, who served as SIAM's Vice President in the previous term, succeeds Shailesh Chandra, managing director and CEO of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles.
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The association has also elected K N Radhakrishnan, director and CEO of TVS Motor Co., as vice president for 2026-27. The association said that Santosh Iyer, managing director and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India, will serve as SIAM's Treasurer for the term.
Agarwal took over as managing director and CEO of Ashok Leyland in 2022. Before joining the commercial vehicle maker, he was the president at Escorts Kubota Ltd. He had also led its agribusiness for more than seven years and was closely associated with the company's transformation in design, quality and manufacturing standards.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the SIAM convention, Agarwal said India's commercial vehicle market is likely to remain strong over the long term, supported by an ageing vehicle fleet, rising infrastructure activity and the expansion of roads and highways.
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He said the strength of demand in the first quarter, despite challenges including diesel availability and price increases, indicated that the current cycle was not merely temporary.
“The last six months have proven that that is for real, and India needs a lot of new trucks,” Agarwal told the media.
The comments come as the commercial vehicle segment remains supported by replacement demand and increased economic and infrastructure activity.
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