Defence Expo 2018: Ashok Leyland Has Defence Orders Worth More Than Rs 5,000 Crore

Trucks and commercial vehicles manufacturer Ashok Leyland Ltd. has defence orders worth more than Rs 5,000 crore as it bagged a bulk of the contracts in the sector over the last year.

“We have bagged 12 of the 15 contracts over the last one year, amounting to Rs 5,000 crore that needs to be executed in the next five years,” Managing Director Vinod Dasari told BloombergQuint in an interview. Dasari was unveiling new logistics products for the armed forces at the 2018 Defence Expo in Chennai.

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Ashok Leyland has been working with the armed forces for the last 70 years and has expanded its offerings in the last four years to cater to 20 percent of the needs, Dasari said. It has ventured into armoured vehicles and expanded the range of trucks to as complex as 12x12 to carry missiles, he added.

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Nearly 4 percent of the company's revenue, amounting to Rs 800 crore, now comes from defence, Dasari said. The company is focussing primarily on domestic markets but will also explore opportunities to export these products.