Ashok Leyland is in focus after the company extended their deal with Japan's Hino Motors where the company will utilise Hino's Engine Technology for their Euro-VI development
Talking about the above development in detail, Vinod Dasari, MD & CEO, Ashok Leyland said the company will be fully compliant with Euro-VI by April 2020.
He said since company over a period came out with the lowest cost per horsepower in its engine, Hino came to the company with EURO-VI engine to help them reduce cost of the engine.
Hino already has four-cylinder EURO-VI that they sell in different parts of the world and now Ashok Leyland will help them make that become more competitive and will together develop a six-cylinder engine, said Dasari, adding that according to the deal, they won’t compete in India and we won’t compete in Japan. The company will pay Hino a small royalty and they will also pay Ashok Leyland us royalty for parts that are developed and exported from India. So, net-net no impact, he said.
The tie-up with Hino will help reduce costs and moreover, it also gives another safety net as far as EURO-VI is concerned, said Dasari.
Talking about the business outlook, he said although their market share has come down a bit from June, they are still higher overall from previous year and would to achieve double-digit operating margins, said Dasar. Going forward to, the target would be to achieve double-digit operating margins.
The overall capacity utilisation would be around 70-75 percent and it is time to improve production, said Dasari.
Talking about the government’s focus on heavy-duty fuel economy, which we have to meet by April, he said.
On their plans for electric vehicle (EV), he said they have a three-pronged strategy -- a battery swap strategy, a flash charge strategy and fast charge strategy, said Dasari, adding that they are working with battery companies, motor companies on it etc.
"We have a distinct plan for EVs, as distinct as Euro-VI," he said, adding that they have two separate teams feverishly working to make sure that they are world class not only in Euro-VI but also EVs.
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