Ashok Leyland Stile

Ashok Leyland Stile
Where the Nissan Evalia will target at private car buyers, the Stile from partner Ashok Leyland will be positioned as a commercial people mover. It will get a far more basic interior and will also do without many features like ABS and airbags. The Stile and Evalia will also come with different powertrains and engine’s in different states of tune. However, a cargo version is a possibility and there could be a seven seat CNG version too. But don’t expect to see the Stile on roads any time soon. It will be launched six months after the Evalia that arrives in late 2012.

Factfile: 
Engine: 1.5-litre diesel
Power/Torque: 105bhp/24.4kgm
Kerb weight: 1269kg
L/W/H: 4400/1695/1860mm
Expected: Early 2013
Price: Rs 7.5-9.5 lakh

Ashok Leyland to launch Avia range in India

Ashok Leyland will manufacture the Avia range of vehicles in its Pant Nagar facility in India with a capacity of 30,000 units

Heavy vehicles maker Ashok Leyland, the Hinduja Group flagship company, is planning to launch its latest Avia range of vehicles in the domestic market during this fiscal, a top company official said. 

The city-headquartered company would manufacture the Avia range at its Pant Nagar manufacturing unit, Ashok Leyland Managing Director Vinodh K Dasaritold reporters here. 

"We hope to bring them by the end of this fiscal," he said. 

Noting the company was manufacturing AVIA range vehicles at its plant in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic for the European markets, he said they make them as country specific vehicles. 

"It will be India specific product when we launch it here," he said. 

He said the Prague plant will continue to manufacture Avia vehicle and the Indian version would be made at their Pant Nagar facility. 

"The facility will have a capacity to make 30,000 units per year," he said. 

He said Avia range vehicles were one of the successful products for the company and would replace the company's Ecomet range of trucks in a phased manner.

Ashok Leyland Dost driven

 
Think Ashok Leyland, and what comes to your mind? Trucks and buses of course. They have  been one of India’s leading manufacturers of commercial vehicles, around since 1948, a year after India’s Independence. In fact Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister convinced Raghunanadan Saran, an industrialist to enter into automotive manufacturing who went on to start Ashok Motors and assemble Austin cars. Fast forward to today and the company has a presence in the entire truck range from 7.5 tonnes to 49 tonnes. However, the company has never had any product in the under 7.5 tonnes segment. That’s where the joint venture with Nissan Motors comes in. I was in Chennai to drive Ashok Leyland’s first ever LCV, the Dost.
 
Not so long ago, one had no option but to transport goods in big trucks or puny rickshaws into town. All that changed a few years back when 1-tonners such as the Tata Ace arrived, it not only was easier to drive but also offered more comfort. India today has the fifth largest CV market in the world and one can choose over 16 different LCVs. The government is working towards improving rural connectivity and the transition from animal carts to vehicles has led to the increase in LCV sales and will continue to rise every year. Majority of these buyers are younger drivers who expect the vehicle not only to deliver but be stylish and comfortable. Ashok Leyland and Nissan didn’t want to be left behind in this fast growing market, and hence after three years of rapid development work, they are now ready to launch the Dost. 
 
The Dost is an India-specific project that has been developed after interacting with drivers around the country. To start off they went about building a vehicle that has a larger footprint than the Ace but smaller to LCVs such as the Bolero pick up. More importance was given to space and comfort. The vehicle has been designed in-house by Ashok Leyland-Nissan’s young designers in Chennai. This reflects in the design, it approaches a very simple design language and at the same time it’s very practical. The quality of plastics and the fit and finish is on par with MPVs which is a good sign for an LCV. The interiors are more MPV like with good seating position and a large glass area, the space is definitely one of the highest in the segment. The seats recline and fold downwards too, an extra seat has been placed above the engine cover which when combined with the foldable front seats acts as a flat bed for the driver to rest. The Dost also features air conditioning, something not found in an LCV.
 
From the outside, the Dost doesn’t feature a prominent front grille but uses the company’s flowing garland nose seen on other Ashok Leyland products. The headlamp is a clear lens unit that features what the designers call hockey stick shaped indicators. Most LCVs in India feature a flat front end but the Dost has a short nose that is not just a cosmetic feature, hidden inside is a bull bar mounted to the ladder frame that acts as protection when there is a collision. The flat bed is also designed to give highest loading area and can take a load up to 1.25 tonnes which is more than most of its rivals. The Dost we drove even featured 14-inch alloy wheels with 185 section tubeless radial tyres. The alloy wheel will be available as an accessory in dealerships which will be dedicated only for LCVs. However, the 185 section tyre will be offered as standard equipment, another segment first. Coming to the engine, the Dost is powered by an all new three-cylinder, 1478cc common rail diesel engine mated to a five speed gearbox. The engine has been entirely designed, developed and tested in-house. Designated the P15, the engine produces 55PS of maximum power at 3300rpm and maximum torque of 150Nm available from 1600-2400rpm. In comparison the Mahindra Maxximo pickup truck produces only 55Nm of torque from its 900cc, two-cylinder engine. 
 
How is it to drive then? Start the vehicle and the engine is surprisingly low on noise and sounds refined, the gearbox position is good and the shift quality is the best I’ve come across in an LCV. Power delivery is linear and effortless to drive even after being fully laden with the air conditioner switched on. The ECU has been tuned well with good low down torque which will come handy in our driving conditions. The vehicle seemed like it could take even more load. I even managed to cross the three digit mark while the engine feels happy cruising at 90kmph. Handling is good and better than most LCVs. Power steering is also offered and hence less tiring to drive. Potholes and bumps are soaked up well too, most LCVs have a stiff suspension setup but the Dost offers a softer setup which in turn aids in good ride quality and passenger comfort. LCVs generally feature leaf spring suspension, the Dost on the other hand features a unique independent double wishbone front suspension with a transverse leaf spring. The company claims that this offers a combination of ruggedness of a leaf spring with the ride quality of an independent suspension.  Leaf springs make do at the rear. The Dost is light too with a kerb weight of just 1250kg. 
 
The Dost will be available in three variants, the basic model will not feature power steering and air conditioning, the middle variant features power steering while the top of the line variant will feature power steering and air conditioning. 
 
The Dost is expected to be priced in between LCVs like the Tata Ace and Mahindra Bolero pickup, which translates to around ` 3-4lakh, which is great value for money. The vehicle is definitely a step ahead for LCVs in India. It offers good power and high load carrying capability, a modern engine and segment first features. Ashok Leyland and Nissan surely have a winner in its hands and this is just the beginning. 
 
V Sumantran, Executive Vice Chairman at Hinduja Automotive informed OVERDRIVE that two more models sharing the Dost platform will be launched next year while the bigger Nissan Atlas range of pickup trucks and the Nissan NV200 (a people carrier van that recently won the New York Taxi cab contract) are also headed our way. The good times for the Indian CV industry are here and the Ashok Leyland-Nissan collaboration will definitely be a key player in this revolution.

Ashok Leyland increases stake in Optare to 75.1 per cent

Hinduja Group’s flagship, Ashok Leyland along with other associate companies will increase its stake in British bus maker Optare plc to 75.1 per cent. Initially the company had acquired 26 per cent stake in Optare in July 2010 as part of a long term strategic partnership. If things go well, Optare will be fully integrated into Ashok Leyland’s global strategy for buses.
Dheeraj G. Hinduja, chairman, Ashok Leyland said,“We are confident that, together, we can surge ahead with Optare taking advantage of the large opportunities for growth and development we see based on synergy and integration with Ashok Leyland’s bus business.”
Jim Sumner, chief executive officer, Optare mentioned, “This is great news for Optare’s customers, employees and suppliers and secures stability and the long-term future of the business. The re-banking represents a defining moment in the company’s 3-year turnaround plan which commenced in June 2009.”

2012 Auto Expo – Ashok Leyland launch Jan Bus

Ashok Leyland unveiled two new LCVs at the Auto Expo 2012.  They are the Ashok Leyland Stile and Partner. Kamal Nath, the union minister of urban development also launched Jan Bus, the world’s first single step, front engine, fully flat floor bus.
Unveiling the bus, Kamal Nath said, “A lots of the transport problems faced by urban India are attributable to the proliferation of private vehicle usage. People, however, will convert to public modes of transport only if they have good, comfortable, affordable and efficient options. With the Jan Bus, I am confident that Ashok Leyland has gone a long way towards providing a very attractive transport solution both for the passenger as well as the operator.”
The Jan Bus gets air suspension, driver friendly assists and infotainment system to keep the passengers entertained. The Jan Bus gets a 235PS turbo-charged BS4 compliant CNG MPFI engine and an automated manual transmission.
The Stile has been specially developed to address various applications like people carriers in the urban and rural areas, hotel shuttles, taxi services, ambulances, panel vans, courier services, inter-city and intra-city travel. It has a monocoque body construction with sliding doors on both the sides. Ashok Leyland will launch it in both diesel and CNG versions, with a choice of two and four rows of seating.
The Partner is a 6 tonne LCV platform that was launched globally by Nissan Motor Company recently. It gets a 121PS ZD30-DDTI Common Rail Diesel (BS4-compliant) engine. The Partner will be useful for applications like tippers and aluminium containers.
The company also showed the CNG variant of the Dost LCV. While the Stile and Partner platforms are scheduled for launch in mid of calendar year 2013, the Dost CNG will be in the market later this year.

Auto Expo 2012 – Ashok Leyland unveils India’s first 37-tonne haulage truck

Ashok Leyland today introduced India’s first 37-tonne haulage truck with the highest payload of up to 27 tonnes. The U-3723 H is built on the contemporary and future-ready U-Truck platform.
The U-3723 H has five axles - twin steerable front axles, two rear axles and a self-steerable pusher lift axle at the middle that enables the vehicle to carry more loads. One interesting bit is that the auto-lift axle can sense if the vehicle is not carrying any load and will lift the axle which helps in saving fuel. The U-3723 H has a ‘H’ series engine which produces 225PS and is mated to a 9-speed gearbox.
At the launch, Mr Vinod K Dasari, managing director, Ashok Leyland, said, “The U-3723 H is truly the most efficient truck in the country and carefully engineered to meet certain specific customer requirements. With a more stringent implementation of rated payload on one hand and the availability of higher loads on the other, customers have been increasingly seeking higher capacity rigid trucks that can carry more loads translating into better operational economics. Market trends are clearly skewed towards the 31+Tonne category and thus our U-3723 H is perfectly positioned to meet the demands for higher payload capacity, faster turnaround time and better maneuverability.”

Ashok Leyland shows HMV 8x8 Super Stallion at the DefExpo 2012

Ashok Leyland unveiled their new Super Stallion 8x8, Stallion 6x6 and a range of logistics vehicles at the DefExpo 2012. The Stallion 8x8 is the new flagship vehicle and its Neptune engine produces 370PS of power and a whopping 1400Nm of torque. It has been configured to operate in challenging terrains like desert and its hub reduction axles ensure better grip in the sand for all the eight wheels and the central tyre inflation system enables deflating or inflating tyres even while the vehicle is in motion. The Stallion platform can be used in various applications like a field artillery tractor and mounted gun with different transmission and driveline configurations.
The Stallion 6x6 gets a common rail diesel engine which produces 224PS of power and 800Nm of torque and is mated to an automatic transmission. It gets a back-up emergency power steering system and semi-automatic tyre inflation system. The Stallion 6x6 can be used as a troop carriers, water and fuel bowsers and as the base vehicle to mount communication equipment and command control posts.  Both the Stallion models have bucket seats and air-conditioning as standard.
Nitin Seth, executive director – defence business, Ashok Leyland said, “The HMV 8x8 Super Stallion is our new top-of-the-range offering – a contemporary technology product that is proudly indigenous. This heavier Super Stallion platform builds on the heritage of theStallion, of which more than 65,000 vehicles are deployed by the Indian army. Stallions form the veritable backbone of their logistics operations and we cherish our role as their largest supplier of logistics vehicles.”