Ashok Leyland aims 40% ICV sales from CNG variant

15 Feb 2022 CW Team

Ashok Leyland Limited has planned to expand its compressed natural gas (CNG) range to make about 40% sales in the intermediate commercial vehicle (ICV) segment from this fuel variant.

The initiative follows the truck maker losing market share in the ICV segment, which is the biggest volume generator in the commercial vehicles (CVs) after the delayed CNG launch.

The company continues to develop its electric vehicles (EVs) and E-Mobility-as-a-service (E-MaaS) portfolio under its electric mobility arm, Switch Mobility, aiming to raise $200-300 million in ongoing funding round.

Ashok Leyland announced the launch of 14 and 16 tonnes of CNG trucks and plans to expand its range to an 11 tonne truck in the next two months and multi-axle vehicles. This launch arises when the commercial vehicle market is seeing a rebound after a three-year slump.

In the ICV and light commercial vehicle segment, fleet operators favour CNG over diesel as fuel as it offers significantly low running costs. The increasing number of CNG fueling stations and a green tax on diesel CVs are also under adoption.

Currently, CNG accounts for 35-40% of the ICV segment and over 10% of the entire CV market. The recent shortage of trucks with fleet operators is spurring demand.

The company is also developing alternate fuel technologies like liquefied natural gas (LNG) as an alternative for diesel-run Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicles (M&HCVs). It will be able to offer these technologies to the market when the ecosystem essential to their adoption matures.

Chief financial officer of Ashok Leyland, Gopal Mahadevan, said Switch Mobility plans to begin E-MaaS in India soon and it's in discussion with private equity investors to raise $200-300 million.

Also read: Ashok Leyland to deliver 200 trucks to Bangladesh

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