Ashok Leyland plans bus body building unit at Alwar
BussinessLine :August 29,2007
In an attempt to leverage its existing assembly unit for chassis in Rajasthan, commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland is likely to set up a bus body building unit at its Alwar plant.
Rajasthan Government sources said that the company already has land at Alwar and would start the assembly for bus body building parts at this plant.
“The company is targeting 1,000-1,200 units to begin with at an initial investment of Rs 40 crore spread over two years.”
Since the company already makes CNG chassis, it made sense to integrate the existing facility for an assembly unit for building of bus body parts, said an industry source, adding that a pilot was being worked out for the same.
Further, the company is looking to tap the export market through this facility. A company spokesperson said: “We are looking at a bus body building unit in the North. Beyond that we cannot comment.”
The project is likely to be worked out with Spanish luxury coach maker Irizar TVS, with which it already has partnership since 2001.
Currently, the company has six manufacturing facilities in the country – three at Hosur near Bangalore, one at Ennore near Chennai and one each in Alwar and Bhandar.
Meanwhile, the company is rolling out its InterCentury Luxura bus from its plant in South India.
