Ashok Leyland Not To Foray Into Cars

The Chennai based utility and commercial vehicle manufacturer, Ashok Leyland has announced that it has no interest in foraying into the business of making passenger vehicles. Vinod Dasari, the MD of India’s No. 2 truck maker Ashok Leyland made this statement in reply to many media reports that have been surfacing for some time now on the web stating that Ashok Leyland is planning to jointly pursue the design and development of low cost passenger vehicle with Nissan.

Last month, news agency had reported that Nissan is planning to launch an entry-level car in the Indian market developed jointly with Ashok Leyland by 2014. However, with Nissan reviving its Datsun brand for its small car operations, the future possibility of such an alliance became bleak. Mr. Dasari also mentioned that there are no customers who tell that they need an Ashok Leyland branded car. However, Mr. Dasari mentioned that the company will only do related diversification. Nissan and Ashok Leyland already have a strategic alliance to produce and sell light commercial vehicles and apparently Ashok Leyland wants to keep it that way.

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Ashok Leyland STILE MPV

Ashok Leyland, one of finest commercial vehicle manufacturer in the country actively participated in the 2012 Auto Expo and brought along a number of vehicles. The line-up at the Auto Expo constituted mostly of typical Ashok Leyland vehicles except the STILE multi-functional vehicle/MPV.

The car was an altogether different product from the maker and really impressed us. STILE, is a modern Multi-Functional Vehicle (MFV) that specially addresses various applications like people carriers in the urban and rural areas, hotel shuttles, taxi services, ambulances, panel vans, courier services, inter-city and intra-city travel.

Design wise the car is quite good and features Nissan Evalia type of body structure with rear sliding doors and a good overall height. It has a monocoque body construction that makes for its lower kerb weight and appreciable fuel efficiency.

image – Ashok Leyland STILE MFV

The interiors have a pleasing look with dual-tone theme and superior ergonomics.The ground clearance of the car is quite low therefore allowing easy entry and exit while sliding doors on both sides ensures easy access in tight parking spaces.

The car’s launch is scheduled for mid 2013 and will be available in both diesel and CNG variants.

Exclusive Pictures Of Ashok Leyland Products At 2012 Auto Expo

image – Ashok Leyland Partner

image – Ashok Leyland Solo

image – Ashok Leyland Dost

image – Ashok Leyland Jan Bus

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