Ashok Leyland

The foundation of Ashok Leyland, a Hinduja group company may be followed to the urge for selfreliance, felt by independent India. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister convinced Raghunandan Saran, an industrialist, to enter automotive production. In 1948, Ashok Motors was set up in what was subsequently Madras, for the construction of Austin Vehicles. The Firm's future and name changed shortly with equity participation by British Leyland and Ashok Leyland commenced fabrication of industrial vehicles in 1955.

Since that time Ashok Leyland is a leading presence in India's commercial vehicle business using a tradition of technological leadership, attained through affiliations with worldwide engineering leaders and through vigorous inhouse R&D. Use of worldwide technology-enabled the Business to establish a convention to be first with technologies. Be it complete air brakes, power-steering or rear-engine busses, Ashok Leyland pioneered all these ideas. Reacting to the working conditions and methods within the nation, the Business made its vehicles strong, overengineering them with additional metallic muscles. 'Designing lasting products which make economic sense for the customer, making use of appropriate technology', became the design philosophy of the Business, which has moulded customer attitudes along with the brand character.

The Hinduja Group is really a transnational conglomerate which supplies a broad variety of goods in over fifty countries world-wide. Now, the Hinduja Group has truly become one of the biggest transnational company conglomerates on earth with diversified operations, spanning each of the continents. The Group employs over 25,000 people and has offices in several key cities of earth and all the important cities in India.

Ashok Leyland automobiles have developed a reputation for ruggedness and dependability. The 5,00,000 vehicles we have set in the roads have greatly eased the added pressure set on road transport in independent India.

In the populous Indian metros, four out-of the five State Transport Undertaking (STU) buses come from Ashok Leyland. A few of these such as the vestibule and doubledecker buses are distinctive designs from Ashok Leyland, tailormade for highdensity paths.

In 1987, the foreign holding by Land Rover Leyland International Holdings Limited (LRLIH) was absorbed by a partnership involving the Hinduja Indian transnational group and IVECO NonResident Group, the. (Since July 2006, the Hinduja Group is 100% holder of LRLIH). The pattern prepared for the future mirrored the international ambitions of the business, shot in four words: Global Requirements, Global Markets. This is in a time when globalisation and liberalisation weren't however in the air. Ashok Leyland embarked on a leading goods and procedure up-gradation to fit worldclass standards of engineering.

For more than five decades, Ashok Leyland has become the technology leader in India's commercial vehicle industry, moulding the nation's commercial vehicle account by introducing systems and product ideas which have gone onto become industry norms. From 18 seater to 82 seater doubledecker buses, from 7.5 tonne to 49 tonne in haulage vehicles, from several particular use vehicles to diesel engines for industrial, marine and genset applications, Ashok Leyland offers a broad variety of goods. 8 out-of ten metro state transport buses in India are from Ashok Leyland. With over 60 million passengers per day, Ashok Leyland buses carry more individuals compared to the whole Indian railway system!