Ashok Leyland to start exports of Boss in April

New Delhi, January 7, 2014: Ashok Leyland is exploring various overseas locations to set up assembly facilities in Latin America, Russia, Asean, the Gulf and Africa on the lines of what it has at Ras-al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where it manufactures buses.

It will kick off exports of the 7.5-16T truck Boss starting April. Among the new products to be launched in 2014 will be variants of the new Boss truck. So far, the LE version has rolled out from Pantnagar, Uttarakhand where it is made. It will now be followed by the LX and the export version that will be equipped with a higher engine capacity.

“The LH version will also be launched and sold overseas including Europe. In many parts, it can also be made in kit form. We can take out cab and chassis and manufacture them closer to the customer,” Vinod Dasari, managing director of Ashok Leyland told Autocar Professional in an exclusive interview.

The Boss had a low-key launch in Tamil Nadu in September 2013. About 18 variants of the Captain series of tippers, tractors and haulage trucks will be launched in 2014 besides the JanBus. ALL will also launch its 5T and 6T Partner series vehicles made under its joint venture with Nissan, at the Auto Expo 2014. Also on the cards is a bus version in the Partner series. “The Partner series will also have a bus version as we have in trucks in the higher range and will be showcased in the Auto Expo with a different cabin. The Partner LCVs were showcased in the concept stage at the 2012 Auto Expo. They will now be productionised and sold in 2014,” said Dasari.

ALL saw its December sales fall 14 percent to 6,274 units as against 7,294 units in the year-earlier month. The medium and heavy duty commercial vehicle sales saw a drop of 26 percent with 3,890 units sold while Luvs which includes Dost and Stile recorded a 16 percent drop with 2,385 units sold.

SHOBHA MATHUR