Ashok Leyland Ltd. is buoyant on domestic sales in the light commercial vehicle and medium and heavy commercial vehicle segments in fiscal 2025 and sees further growth in its electric bus offerings as the government ramps up tenders, according to senior company executives.
"We are buoyant on LCVs and planning six major launches in FY25, with the first one in May," Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Shenu Agarwal told NDTV Profit, adding the company will launch a new product every alternate month. "Things are looking bright. We are now number two in the market."
The truckmaker expects the growth momentum seen in the MHCV segment in the first eight months of FY24 to continue in this fiscal. Moreover, there are no emission norms in the near future that can have an impact on the company, Agarwal said.
Ashok Leyland's electric bus subsidiary, Switch Mobility, will benefit from government support as state transport authorities push greener mobility in cities to replace polluting diesel buses with electric ones, said Chief Financial Officer Gopal Mahadevan, who has been re-designated as director of strategic finance and mergers and acquisitions. "Switch India has become a big focus as the market is growing in a very methodical manner."
The payment security mechanism in the PM eBus Sewa Scheme will ensure a capital-light model for state transport undertakings and thus incentivise tenders for EV buses that have a far lower operating cost than diesel-powered ones, he said.
The company is also gearing up for the international launch of an electric bus model to cater to UK and European buses.
Agarwal said Ashok Leyland witnessed an "all-round performance" in the last fiscal and achieved its goal of a double-digit margin for the year in the first quarter itself.
"All six verticals fired at the same time. The power solution business had 40% plus growth; we doubled our defence business in FY24, and even though markets were subdued in the SAARC and Africa regions, the company registered a 5% growth in international order volumes," the CEO said.
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