India’s Leyland to develop new truck platform

Ashok Leyland Ltd, India’s No. 2 bus and truck maker, said on Monday it was developing a new range of trucks for global markets, as it takes on greater competition from local and foreign rivals.
Leyland, which has ventures with Nissan Motor Co for light trucks, engines and components, will begin the rollout of a new range of "Unitruck" 16-49 tonne trucks from 2010, it said.
These trucks will meet the demand for various applications in local and global markets, it said, and also feature a new family of 6-cylinder engines.
“The Unitruck range reflects our global ambitions,” Managing Director R. Seshasayee said in a statement.
“The trucks will spearhead our entry into developed markets, with competitive advantages in costs. It will also answer the evolving needs of the domestic market.”
No financial details were disclosed.
Separately, the Leyland-Nissan ventures will have an initial capacity of 100,000 vehicles, with production scheduled to start in 2010/11.
Leyland, which is spending 30 billion rupees over three years to more than double capacity, trails leader Tata Motors Ltd  in a market where medium and heavy truck sales have been hit by high fuel prices and firm interest rates.
There is also growing competition from foreign firms that have firmed up local ventures, including Volvo VOLVb.S with Eicher Motors, MAN  with Force Motors  and Daimler with the Hero Group.

Ashok Leyland, the flagship of the Hinduja Group, is forecast to report on Tuesday a 16 percent fall in quarterly net profit to to 741 million rupees on net sales of 17.21 billion.

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