Ashok Leyland To Invest Rs. 500 Crore In Alternate Fuel Technology And EVs

Ashok Leyland is gearing up to make its foray into the EV segment. According to a PTI report, the company is planning to set up a new facility in India to roll out electric vehicles. The Chennai-based firm will also be investing Rs. 500 crore to develop powertrains based on alternative fuels like CNG, hydrogen and electric for its commercial vehicles range. It has already confirmed making an investment of USD 200 million which is around Rs. 1,500 crore through its UK-based arm Switch Mobility for electric mobility.

Ashok Leyland is planning new CVs that would run on alternate fuel.

Ashok Leyland aims to expand its electric vehicle portfolio as well as develop new engines keeping in mind the changing market requirements in the domestic as well as international markets. "In Spain, we are coming up with a manufacturing facility and R&D centre and there are plans to grow this over the next few years. In India, we will be optimising the facilities that are available with Ashok Leyland. But I'm sure very soon we will require an independent facility as well. And that is something that is being looked at by the management team," Ashok Leyland Executive Chairman Dheeraj Hinduja told PTI.

Hinduja also shared that at the moment the company feels quite comfortable regarding the production capacity for the next couple of years. Elaborating on his product plans, he added that Dost and Bada Dost models would be utilised to cater to the domestic and the SAARC markets. "We are also looking at the production of a brand-new LCV (light commercial vehicle) range from the perspective of Switch which will be from the UK and US markets.