Commercial vehicle major Ashok Leyland on Monday launched ‘Circuit’ Series – first Electric Bus Made in India.

Designed and engineered in India, for India, by Indians – the 100 per cent electric bus is a zero-emission, non-polluting vehicle, created specifically for Indian roads and passenger conditions, the company said in a statement.

Hinduja group flagship Ashok Leyland expects its defence business to log four-fold jump in revenues at over Rs 2,000 crore in next five years as it gears up to provide an entire range of mobility solutions, including missile carrying vehicles, to the armed forces.

"In defence, we have got tremendous growth. We have won 13 out of the last 15 tenders..We are today a Rs 500 crore company in defence and in five years we should be well above Rs 2,000 crore," Ashok Leyland MD Vinod Dasari told PTI.

Commercial vehicle (CV) makers Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland have seen a sharp rise in bus orders from state transport undertakings (STUs). The two firms have together bagged orders for 8,600 buses worth about Rs 1,500 crore in the first five months of the current financial year. Most of these orders will be executed during the current financial year. STUs account for bulk of bus purchases in the country.

Hinduja Group flagship Ashok Leyland today reported a 6 per cent decline in total sales at 10,897 units in August 2016.

The company had sold 11,544 units in August last year. Sales of heavy and medium commercial vehicles declined by 8 per cent to 8,201 units last month as against 8,903 units in the year-ago period, the company said in a statement.

Ashok Leyland (ALL) has said that it will set up an assembly plant in Kenya and Bangladesh soon. It has also decided to increase its Ras Al Khaimah (UAE) capacity to 6,000 units per annum to tap African and West Asia in a big way.

Gopal Mahadevan, chief financial officer, ALL said while Kenya assembly plant was for both trucks and buses, that of Bangladesh was mainly for trucks. “We will be investing $5 million in Kenya and the same amount will be invested by our franchisee in Bangladesh. Both plants will have an annual capacity of 3,000 units to be scaled up based on the demand.”

Ashok Leyland has said that its growth plans for the near future would be centred on activities sticking to the core business, emphasis on international markets and expansion, reinforced focus on defence-related business, growth on its in-house engines and customer satisfaction.

Hinduja flagship firm Ashok Leyland today reported over two-fold jump in net profit at Rs 290.78 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, riding on robust volume growth.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 144.49 crore in the same period last fiscal, Ashok Leyland said in a BSE filing.

Commercial Vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland has bagged orders for 3,600 buses from various State Transport Undertakings (STUs), helping it to improve its position in the buses market.

The company is expecting to maintain growth in the domestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle (M&HCV) market during the year, said Vinod K Dasari, managing director, Ashok Leyland Ltd.

KOLKATA: Hinduja group flagship Ashok Leyland on Friday launched its 'Captain 40iT' tractor in Kolkata adding to its popular Captain series of trucks.

Co-created with drivers and users through an extensive study of their lifestyle, the new Captain 40iT has been designed specifically for Indian requirements, the company's mediastatement stated.

Ashok Leyland has dipped 5% to Rs 93.30 in intra-day trade, extending its Monday 2% decline on the BSE, after the company reported single digit growth in total sales for the second straight month.

Ashok Leyland reported 7% increase in total sales at 11,108 units in June 2016 against 10,429 units sold in June last year. Total sales of the company rose by 6% in May 2016 to 9,875 units from 9,290 units in a year ago month.

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