India - The commercial vehicle manufacturer has broken ground at a new site in Mallavalli Village, which is situated in the Krishna District of Andhra Pradesh. It is building a new bus plant, which will be spread across 75 acres and will produce around 4,800 buses per year.
"This facility will help us be ahead of the curve by ensuring our readiness towards implementation of the bus body code and to meet the rising demand for ready-to-use, fully-built trucks as well," commented Vinod K. Dasari, MD and CEO of Ashok Leyland. "We will also produce electric vehicles at this plant. The new plant is also strategically located to meet the demands of Center, East and Southern India markets."
The plant will draw power from rooftop solar panels and will use battery-electric vehicles for logistical operations. The OEM has also said that it will minimise water usage and waste. Around 5,000 employees will work on site.
Ashlok Leyland currently has six different manufacturing plants across India. It also jointly operates a bus manufacturing facility in Ras al-Khaimah in the Middle East alongside the Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority, and a UK plant in Sherburn-in-Elmet under its subsidiary Optare.
