Ashok Leyland to invest Rs 400 cr on new LCV development

Hinduja flagship firm Ashok Leyland BSE -0.53 per cent will invest Rs 400 crore to develop new light commercial vehicles (LCVs) within the next two years and plans to triple its sales in the segment by 2019-20. The company, which had last year parted ways with Nissan after a tumultuous relationship, is now looking to make up for the lost time, eyeing export markets with new models to be developed on two new platforms. In order to accelerate product development, the company is also re-hiring a number of employees who had left the erstwhile joint ventures with Nissan. “For the medium term between 12 months to two years, we have allocated fresh fund of Rs 400 crore on product development for LCVs,” Ashok Leyland President (LCV & Defence) Nitin Seth said. “We will have two new platforms on which we can develop several models — from right hand drive to the left hand drives with different powertrains, as we will be targeting not only the domestic market but overseas as well,” he said. When Ashok Leyland was in partnership with Nissan, their joint venture agreement prevented it from developing its own LCV nor was it allowed to export.