Hinduism: Details about 'Ashok Leyland'
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Ashok Leyland (ASHOKLEY, 500477)is a commercial vehicle manufacturing company based in Chennai, India. The company was established in 1948 as Ashok Motors, with an aim to assemble Austin cars. Manufacturing of commercial vehicles was started in 1955 with equity contribution from Leyland Motors. Today the Company is the flagship of the Hinduja Group, a England-based Indian group. They have a market share of around 30%.
HistoryIn 1948, Ashok Motors was set up in what was then Madras(Now Chennai), for the assembly of Austin Cars. The Company's destiny and name changed soon with equity participation by British Leyland and Ashok Leyland commenced manufacture of commercial vehicles in 1955. Early products included the Leyland Comet bus chassis, which sold in large numbers to many operators, including Hyderabad Road Transport, Ahmedlabad Municipality, Travancore State Transport, Bombay State Transport and Delhi Road Transport Authority. By 1963 the Comet was operated by every State Transport undertaking in India, and over 8,000 were in service. The Comet was soon joined in production by a version of the Leyland Tiger. In 1968 production of the Leyland Titan ceased in Britain, but was restarted by Ashok Leyland in India. The Titan PD3 chassis was modified, and a five speed heavy duty constant-mesh gearbox utilized, together with the Ashok Leyland version of the O.680 engine. The Ashok Leyland Titan was very succesful, and continued in production for many years. Ashok Leyland vehicles have built a reputation for reliability and ruggedness. The 375,000 vehicles we have put on the roads have considerably eased the additional pressure placed on road transportation in independent India. In the populous Indian metros, four out of the five State Transport Undertaking (STU) buses come from Ashok Leyland. Some of them like the double-decker and vestibule buses are unique models from Ashok Leyland, tailor-made for high-density routes. In 1987, the overseas holding by Land Rover Leyland International Holdings Limited (LRLIH) was taken over by a joint venture between the Hinduja Group, the Non-Resident Indian transnational group and IVECO Fiat SpA, part of the Fiat Group and Europe's leading truck manufacturer. In the journey towards global standards of quality, Ashok Leyland reached a major milestone in 1993 when it became the first in India's automobile history to win the ISO 9002 certification. The more comprehensive ISO 9001 certification came in 1994, QS 9000 in 1998 and ISO 14001 certification for all vehicle manufacturing units in 2002. Ashok Leyland is a technology leader in the commercial vehicles sector of India. Its annual turnover exceeds USD 1 billion. Selling around 75000 medium and heavy vehicles each year, Ashok Leyland is India's largest exporter of medium and heavy duty trucks out of India. It is also one of the largest Private Sector Employers in India - with about 12,000 employees working in 6 factories spread over the length and breadth of India. LeadershipAshok Leyland is currently headed by Shri R. Seshasayee. Under his leadership, the company has expanded from a purely India-centric company to a company with the global focus. A Chartered Accountant by qualification, he joined Ashok Leyland in 1976 as manager of their Internal Audit Department after leaving Hindusthan Lever Limited. He rose quickly to the position of Executive Director of Finance in 1983 at the age of 35. In 1993, he became Deputy Managing Director before being appointed in April 1998 as the Managing Director of Ashok Leyland. Under his leadership the company has clocked turnovers in excess of $1.1 billion with nearly $100 million being earned from global sales. Company Facts
Current DirectionThe company is currently increasing its rated capacity from 50,000 vehicles per annum to nearly 77,000 vehicles per annum. After expansion, the company shall attempt to dominate the medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles market in India. Additionally, Ashok Leyland is looking to expand its production operations overseas to make it a more global company. To assist in this goal, the company is looking to acquire small- to medium-sized commercial vehicles manufacturers in China and other developing countries which have an established product line. Recently the company was engaged in talks with various overseas manufacturers like KAMAZ of Russia and other chinese manufacturers with regard to both outright acquisitions as well as joint venture entities for exploring newer markets outside India.
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