Growth momentum in CV industry to continue till next year, says Ashok Leyland MD Shenu Agarwal

ALL expects to continue all-round growth in CV industry due to Centre's focus on infra dev. Govt initiatives such as Scrappage Policy, Nat'l Infra Pipeline, dedicated freight corridors, and multimodal logistics parks to benefit CV industry. ALL plans to expand presence, enter sub-2.0 tonnes segment, and focus on profitability. Setting up e-bus facility with UP Govt support. Plant to produce e-buses with capacity of 2,500 units/annum, and flexibility to assemble vehicles powered by alternative fuels. Tamil Nadu to be cornerstone of ALL's growth.

The all-rounded growth momentum in the commercial vehicles industry is expected to continue till next year due to Centre’s unprecedented focus on infrastructure development, said Ashok Leyland Ltd. (ALL) Managing Director and CEO Shenu Agarwal.

“The growth is expected to be all-rounded, whether it is buses, heavy duty trucks or light commercial vehicles (LCVs). The growth momentum should continue for at least this year and the next,” he said during an interaction.

In line with the industry growth, ALL at the year beginning had estimated 8-10% growth in Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicle (M&HCV) segment and 5-6% in LCV segment.

“In the first five months of the year, M&HCV has grown at a good pace and we maintain our initial estimates for the whole fiscal. The LCV segment, mainly because of the high base last year, has still not caught up. But with the festive season on, we expect the LCV segment also to start growing,” he said.

While mentioning many of the government’s initiatives such as Scrappage Policy, National Infrastructure pipeline, dedicated freight corridors, and multimodal logistics parks were still in a nascent stage, he said the CV industry would benefit immensely when it starts making full impact.

According to him, the CV manufacturer has set long-term road map envisaging holistic growth in volumes, market share, product portfolio, and technology.