Commercial vehicle (CV) maker Ashok Leyland Ltd. is aiming to post an at least 15% increase in sales volume in 2018-19, said its managing director Vinod K. Dasari.
We have been posting increasing sales volume month after month. We saw increased sales except in December 2018 compared with December 2017. It was due to pre-buy. It was a one-off event, he said.
From January to December 2018, Ashok Leyland sold nearly 1.43 lakh units, including export of 11,500 units.
It is going to be an exciting time as Ashok Leyland is a significantly well-diversified firm with almost 40% of sales and 50% of profits coming from the non-truck business.
The year 2019-20 will be very strong due to the anticipated implementation of BS-VI norms, followed by the introduction of the scrappage scheme a year later, he said.
Mr. Dasari said last week Ashok Leyland was able to accomplish its mission of securing a slot among the top ten medium and heavy commercial vehicles (M&HCV) trucks and top five busmakers globally. Queried on his expectation from the Union Budget, he said: For the auto industry, the government should bring back the incentive on R&D, which used to be 200% deduction of R&D expenses.
Incentivise local firms
If Make in India has to be successful, Design in India has to be done. If Design in India has to be successful, local companies have to be given incentives to invest more in R&D.
While highlighting Ashok Leylands support for start-ups, he wanted the State government to come out with a single-window policy to cut down on bureaucratic hassles.
The number of clearances they have to get is incredible,he said.
We have our own internal start-up through Sun Mobility for battery-swap system for e-vehicles. We are not averse to start-ups.
We will evaluate them and work with them on their capability and not on tenure and business. We just showcased our electric vehicle with a swap system at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, Mr. Dasari said.
To a question, he said: We are no longer a South Indian company. We target 30% market share in every place we compete in. But, we dont have 30% market share in all the markets as we do not chase market share.