Commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland is expecting single-digit growth in FY25 in its Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicles (MHCV). The company has also seen an uptick in enquiries for electric trucks from Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and e-commerce players in the country.
“The commercial vehicle industry grew by eight per cent in the first quarter. Last year, the sector clocked close to 4,00,000 volumes. We are expecting a single-digit growth in FY25. The overall expectation for the MHCV segment is to see a pick-up from September. With good monsoon, we expect the agriculture segment to do well,” Sanjeev Kumar, President – MHCV, Ashok Leyland, told businessline.
The company is hosting a Mini Expo in Navi Mumbai showcasing its line-up of commercial vehicles and buses including 15 M Bus Chassis, Boss EV, AVTR 3522 LNG, AVTR 5525AN 4X2 AC, AVTR 4825HN AC 30FT, AVTR 4825TN HD AC, AVTR 3532TN 8X4, BOSS 1915 22FT, ECOMET 1615 8.5 CUM TIPPER, OYSTER Vi SCHOOL (53 seater), OYSTER Vi STAFF (40 seater). Apart from Mumbai, the expo will be held in 10 locations across the country.
While the company is seeing an uptick in electric vehicle demand in its MHCV, the total cost of ownership continues to remain high. “We have introduced electric truck in the Intermediate Commercial Vehicle (ICV) range. The challenge is to match the total cost of ownership as the cost of EV trucks is very high compared to diesel,” he said.
The company is expecting to sell 500 electric and alternate fuel trucks including LNG this year.
Bangladesh crisis
While the Indian commercial vehicle companies are likely to see an impact due to the Bangladesh crisis per experts, Ashok Leyland is not expecting any major impact on the industry.
“Every economy has to run and this is a temporary pause and will not impact commercial vehicle players,” Sanjeev Kumar added.