Ashok Leyland plans to invest Rs 1,000 crore with an emphasis on green mobility
Ashok Leyland has chosen to establish a bus manufacturing facility in Uttar Pradesh that will concentrate on electric and alternative fuel vehicles.
The producer of commercial vehicles intends to primarily focus on the production of electric buses, however it also has plans to assemble diesel cars and other alternative fuels.
Ashok Leyland has chosen to establish a bus manufacturing facility in Uttar Pradesh that will concentrate on electric and alternative fuel vehicles. Shenu Agarwal, managing director and chief executive officer of Ashok Leyland, stated that the company plans to invest up to Rs 1,000 crore in this new facility over the coming years with a focus on green mobility. He added that the amount will depend on market acceptance and demand for alternative fuel vehicles in the state.
According to a company statement, it has a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Uttar Pradesh government for this.
The factory will initially be able to build 2,500 buses per year, but the business plans to increase this capacity to 5,000 vehicles over the following ten years. The corporation did not, however, provide a schedule for establishing the manufacturing.
Ashok Leyland intends to invest up to Rs 1,000 crore in this new facility over the next few years.
According to Ashok Leyland MD & CEO Shenu Agarwal, “Contingent on market adoption and demand of alternative fuel vehicles in the state, Ashok Leyland intends to invest up to Rs 1,000 crore in this new facility over the next few years.”
Company’s goal of reaching net zero by 2048
One of the motivations for establishing the plant in Uttar Pradesh was the company’s goal of reaching net zero by 2048, he continued.
When it is up and running, this will be Ashok Leyland’s seventh auto plant in the country.
Dheeraj Hinduja, Executive Chairman of Ashok Leyland, said in a statement, “We are excited to venture into the vibrant state of Uttar Pradesh, and we are confident that this new facility will contribute positively to our shared objectives of generating employment opportunities and promoting sustainable mobility in India, the signing of this MoU… reaffirms our commitment to shaping the future of the commercial vehicle industry.”
Nand Gopal Gupta, Minister for Industrial Development, Export Promotion, NRI and Investment Promotion, said in the statement that the Government of Uttar Pradesh is committed to facilitating the sale of electric buses annually for its own fleet and among other stakeholders for the following five years through Switch Mobility, a subsidiary of Ashok Leyland.
EV is the future
Although electric buses are a more recent alternative to more conventional buses, they are quickly gaining popularity among cities, private transportation providers, and school districts looking to adopt EV technology. Electric buses initially cost more than traditional types, however they can end up saving money.
Older buses still in service run on diesel or petrol engines. Smoke and atmospheric carbon dioxide are produced as a result.The air is too heavily polluted in big cities with many of buses travelling through them.
China completely rules the electric bus market. According to the EV Sales blog, which is arguably the best source of information on EV sales, “In the end of 2015, China had 170,000 of the 173,000 e-buses circulating in the world. That’s right, 98% of them were zooming in The Big Red Giant, which I think says it all about the role of that country on the change happening towards eMobility.”
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