Bus and truck maker Ashok Leyland’s small commercial vehicle, Dost, helped the company bolster overall sales of its commercial vehicles in the month of June. The company sold 7,519 vehicles in June ’12 against 8,009 vehicles in June ’11, a 6 per cent drop.
However, its SCV Dost pitched in with sales of 2,725 vehicles in June helping the company post a 28 per cent growth in sales this June over the comparable month last year. Ashok Leyland’s Dost was launched only in September 2011.
Vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes are considered as small commercial vehicles, according to SIAM, and Dost falls into the 2-to-3.5 tonnes range and ranks second behind the Tata Ace.
The company reported a 43 per cent increase in sales of commercial vehicles in the first quarter of the current financial year. It sold 27,585 units in the first quarter ended June 30, 2012 when compared with 19,277 units in the same period last year.
The company said that sales in commercial vehicle segment (excluding Dost) increased by 5 per cent in the quarter to 20,337 units (19,277 units). It sold 7,248 Dosts in this period.