Ashok Leyland

Ashok Leyland (NSE: ASHOKLEY, BSE: 500477) is a commercial vehicle manufacturing company based in Chennai, India. Founded in 1948, the company is one of India's leading manufacturers of commercial vehicles, such as trucks and buses, as well as emergency and military vehicles. Operating six plants, Ashok Leyland also makes spare parts and engines for industrial and marine applications. It sells about 60,000 vehicles and about 7,000 engines annually. It is the second largest commercial vehicle company in India in the medium and heavy commercial vehicle (M&HCV) segment with a market share of 28% (2007–08). With passenger transportation options ranging from 19 seaters to 80 seaters, Ashok Leyland is a market leader in the bus segment.The company claims to carry over 60 million passengers a day, more people than the entire Indian rail network. In the trucks segment Ashok Leyland primarily concentrates on the 16 ton to 25 ton range of trucks. However Ashok Leyland has presence in the entire truck range starting from 7.5 tons to 49 tons. The joint venture announced with Nissan Motors of Japan would improve its presence in the Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) segment (<7.5 tons).

Ashok Leyland's UK subsidiary Optare has shut down its bus factory in Blackburn, UK. This subsidiary's traditional home in Leeds has also been vacated in favour of a purpose built plant at Sherburn in Elmet