Ashok Leyland To Open Manufacturing Facility In Bangladesh

Vinod K. Dasari, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Ashok Leyland Ltd. said, "With a comprehensive product portfolio, Ashok Leyland is working towards a renewed thrust in the international markets, with network expansion and dedicated products. Bangladesh is an important market for Ashok Leyland. With the inauguration of this new plant, together with the robust presence of IFAD Autos, we expect to make significant inroads into this region."

Ashok Leyland is looking to consolidate its presence globally and this is just one step in that direction. The plant will have a capacity to roll out 600-800 vehicles each month and will be equipped with state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment and assembly lines. It will also be facilitated with a bodybuilding and vehicle testing facility, which will become functional in the next two years.

Ashok Leyland is not the first Indian automobile manufacturer to have a presence in Bangladesh. In fact Hero MotoCorp too entered a joint venture with Bangladesh's Nitol Niloy group which saw the Indian two-wheeler manufacturer hold 55 per cent stake. It was announced back in 2014 that the joint venture would see an investment of over Rs. 240 crore in the next five years.

The new manufacturing facility is now nearing completion and will have an annual capacity of 1.5 lakh units. The plant in Bangladesh will be the first full-fledged manufacturing facility for the Indian two-wheeler major outside India.