Ashok Leyland, the market leader in M&HCV buses in India and 4th largest bus manufacturer in the world in volume terms, facilitates millions of people in getting to their destination every day through its wide product range of 9- to 80-seater buses, truly living it up to its ethos of serving national interest through every business venture.
The technology was developed by capturing customer voice in terms of feel, emotion, safety, and comfort, and these buses cover the entire range with different floor heights for varied applications for travel within the city, intercity, and special applications like airport shuttle.
We offer wide range of buses to suit varied needs of applications, terrains & comfort requirements. Ashok Leyland Sunshine is a dedicated school bus and symbolizes safe journey and happy memories to the school children. Ashok Leyland Viking continues to deliver versatility and reliability across all needs. Cheetah with short wheelbase is specifically made as per customer choice for their transport needs in hilly terrain. We continued to work alongside progressive State Transport Undertakings (STU’s) to provide safe and comfortable public transport solutions.
In an interaction with Bus Coach India Magazine, Mr. Sanjeev Kumar, Head-MHCV, Ashok Leyland, highlighted the development of all the above alternate fuel technologies and demands of sustainable mobility.
New Products displayed at Prawaas
We launched our innovative 13.5m bus chassis at Prawaas 3.0. The 13.5m intercity bus chassis (4X2) is a new platform engineered for high speed intercity commute with larger saloon space. It offers 20% additional passenger capacity (36 sleeper berths) against the 12m intercity chassis (30 sleeper berths), thereby maximizing per trip revenue for our customers.
Powered by 248HP A4 engine (highest horse power in segment), this bus delivers better fluid economy and shorter trip time. The optional full air suspension with anti-roll bar configuration & electromagnetic retarder ensures a safe and comfortable ride.
The ergonomic 3-way adjustable driver seat, cable shift gear mechanism, and lower TCD guarantees fatigue-free long driving hours on Indian roads.
We are the pioneer in urban mobility, and staying true to this we are proud to launch our 13.5m bus chassis built to provide maximum space and comfort.
We had a 12 m bus, which used to have 30 sleeper coach, but introduction of this we will able to create 36-seater sleeper coach.
This best-in-class product with cutting edge technology offers the best Total Cost of Ownership to customers. We continue to expand our range of chassis and coach options and we continue to ‘Make in India, for the World.
POST COVID DEMAND
When we look at the complete bus industry, it has gone thought touch time in the last two–three years; however, the bus operators were suffered a lot, unlike truck which was still moving. During this period of time, the bus business came to complete standstill, which was really caused cost them big financial loss. I would say they are slowly coming out of it and hope the market will back into the track at the pre-covid level. After the vaccination drive by the government and relaxation of Covid curb, school and colleges students back to the school and colleges. School bus segment is one of the biggest industries, followed by staff bus and finally we are seeing movement in intercity buses. We can see people starts travelling as a “revenge traveller”, which is a positive signs for the bus industry. We also hope after 3-6 months the bus markets are likely to reach at pre-covid level.
Focus on electric and CNG segment
We are fully committed to working on a net zero kind of a situation. We have a sister concern called ‘Switch’ which is focusing on electric vehicles. In terms of alternative fuel options we are already seeing a push for CNG & LNG, and expect other fuels such as methanol, hydrogen, etc., to start replacing fossil fuels. At Ashok Leyland, we are working on the development of all the above alternate fuel technologies, while we continue to make our IC engines more efficient. We are committed to this path of sustainable mobility.
The demand of CNG has shown an uptick over last couple of years, primarily on account of two factors which include high diesel prices amidst the rebound in economic activities as well as geopolitical tensions such as the Ukraine war. Secondly, the increasing network of CNG outlets has also helped in pushing the usage of CNG-driven vehicles in the country.
The spike in diesel prices since past several quarters forced fleet operators to shift to CNG primarily for intra-state travelling which is typically distances of 300-400 km. This transition prompted the share of CNG run vehicles in ICVs moving upward of 30 per cent during most part of the last fiscal.
Views on Passenger comfort and connected vehicles ecosystem
We are not only looking at the products but also at how we service the vehicles. When we started this journey from BSIII, BSIV itself and now where we shift it to BSVI, all our vehicles is connected with Chennai team, we called it touch points solution center. There is an entire team to address these needs in terms of infrastructure at the dealerships and touch points. There is an entire team to address the upskilling requirements in terms of service. We have a large team of service engineers, transport engineers. They are part of the vehicle fleet running; of vehicle diagnostics. Looking at telematics, Ashok Leyland is keen to leverage the same for the betterment of the vehicle. Through telematics, the company is looking at providing its fleet operators a significant value addition in terms of uptime and maintenance. The company closely worked with the suppliers to help them to supply BSVI aggregates and components.
The company closely worked with the suppliers to help them to supply BSVI aggregates and components. It also handheld them to tackle the challenge of financial crunch if it was an issue. For BSVI tech, the company engaged with new technology partners for the supply of components like sensors.
Products demand and order highlighting
The commercial industry has grown with trucks and buses expected to do well… truck sales has improved as many industries would require more units as they are running at full capacity. Besides, with the Covid impact waning and schools, colleges and offices opening up, it would lead to a rise in intercity and intracity travel, aiding the sale of buses. So, bus sales also increased in the last 2-3 months. Also, light commercial vehicles have also grown because there has been a disruptive change in behavior and consumer patterns. We advanced 3.86% to Rs 159.95 after the auto major’s total commercial vehicle (CV) sales jumped 51% to 14,121 units in August 2022 from 9,360 units sold in August 2021. Sequentially, the company’s total CV sales rose 3.64% in August 2022 from 13,625 units sold in July 2022.
While the total sales of medium & heavy commercial vehicles (M&HCV) soared 81% to 8,379 units, sales of light commercial vehicles (LCVs) surged 21% to 5,742 units in August 2022 over August 2021. In the domestic market, the company sold 13,301 units of total vehicles in August 2022, up 58% compared with 8,400 units sold in the same period last year.
Response of the BSVI range in Global Market
The company, which exports mainly to SAARC, the Middle East and Africa, has improved product range that is well suited for customer requirements outside the country. We hopefully, in the next couple of years, will see a lot of capacity coming up, which would be helpful for the industry. Market like Russia and Ukraine are still running on EuroV. The Middle Eastern countries are still EuroIV. It would serve that markets like these move to EuroVI. Once they do, Ashok Leyland could look at exporting its BSVI vehicles to the respective markets.
We have bagged orders from major fleets for 1,400 school buses in UAE- the company’s reportedly largest ever supply of school buses in UAE.
The 55-seater Falcon bus and 32-seater Oyster bus – will be supplied from Ashok Leyland’s manufacturing facility in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, which is reportedly the only certified local bus making facility in the entire GCC. The Ras Al Khaimah plant is a joint venture between Ashok Leyland and the Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (RAKIA), UAE, and has an installed capacity of 4,000 buses a year. The total fleet deal for the GCC made buses has been bagged by Ashok Leyland’s UAE distribution partners, Swaidan Trading – Al Naboodah Group, the reports added.
Overall for the future
It was a challenging and equally exciting year for the commercial vehicle industry. Infrastructure development was been reasonably good, and the general expectation was that the commercial vehicle industry would do well. As a part of our green mobility agenda, our aim to bring alternative fuel based vehicles which can provide the same efficiency and range as our ICE models. LNG is being considered as the future of the natural gas economy offering lower on-road total carbon emissions as compared to its counterparts like CNG, which will be a step towards India’s goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions. We have been looking a strong comeback as it looks to consolidate its position in the intermediate commercial vehicle (ICV) segment, reap benefits of enhanced demand for its modular AVTR range and bolster exports to new destinations across the globe.