Truck major Ashok Leyland Ltd is betting big on the bus segment. Buses, particularly luxury ones, will grow manifold and the company is well positioned to cash in on the higher demand from across segments, said R Seshasayee, managing director, Ashok Leyland, after inaugurating a new facility of Irizar-TVS Ltd, a three-way joint venture between TVS Sons, Ashok Leyland and Irizar of Spain. The trio will have equal shareholding in the venture.
?We see huge demand for the buses in India due to the central government?s Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNRUM) scheme, changing customer demand, and states? keenness towards providing seamless mobility across the country,? he said. He added, ?As against 40% now, the contribution of fully built buses will go up to 90% of our overall bus sales in the next three years and the Irizar-TVS joint venture will be one such major initiative towards meeting the demand.? He said, ?We have close to 15 body builders across the country to meet state governments? as well private operators demand. We may increase the number of body builders or consolidate to a few by expanding the existing capacities in a big way.?
To a specific question on the possibility of integrating the buses business, Sesashayee said, ?There is no specific integration. We are making buses in collaboration with different body builders across the country and we ensure that the quality, the brand equity and engineering capabilities are maintained across all levels are maintained to ensure that we will be major competitor.?
According to him, the overall demand for buses is estimated to be around 25,000 to 30,000 in a good year and out of which top end will be around 500 and the rest will be at the low end.