Aim to become Top 10 commercial vehicle-maker in 5yrs: Hinduja

The Hinduja Group today said it is looking to expand the geographical reach and production capacity of flagship automobile firm Ashok Leyland in a big way to make the company one of the top 10 global commercial vehicle producers in the next five years.

"Our aspiration in the next five years is to be a really global top 10 company in commercial vehicles and this is a step in that direction," Dheeraj G Hinduja, the President of the Hinduja Group of Companies, told PTI on the eve of the inauguration of the company's new state-of-the-art bus and truck manufacturing facility in the Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone in the UAE.

He said the auto manufacturer is looking to do this by expanding its geographical reach, so that production centres are closer to customers, and capacity expansion.

Ashok Leyland's new plant was inaugurated in Ras Al Khaimah today by Shaikh Saud Bin Al Qasimi, Member of the UAE Supreme Council and the Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, in the presence of UAE Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Shaikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan and Hinduja Group Chairman Srichand P Hinduja and his brothers.

The venture, which reportedly entailed an investment of around USD 50 million, will have an initial annual capacity to assemble 2,000 buses of international styling and quality. However, the company plans to manufacture truck models being sold in Europe at the UAE facility in the near future.

"... It is supposed to be a dedicated facility for buses. But we realised the potential and we are bringing in the launch of our European trucks as well. So far we have been selling our Indian products," Dheeraj Hinduja said.

The first European models to roll out from the new RAK factory will be the D75-140, a 7.5-tonne truck powered by a 140-hp engine, and the D120-180 (12-tonne, 180-hp engine), with wheel base options.

He also said the company is looking to expand its facilities "because we are growing a lot more within Middle East, specifically the GCC countries, and we feel this is the right base to service those markets from."

According to him, the launch is significant because it allows the company to tap the market for both value and premium products.

"It requires value product. It requires premium products. And we have being advantages position to offer both to this market," he said.

In October, 2006, Ashok Leyland had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (RAKIA) for setting up the assembly unit.

Dheeraj Hinduja termed the timing of the launch appropriate and said that the investment decision is not based on a particular economic cycle.