Dheeraj Hinduja, Chairman, Ashok Leyland
Commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland expects demand momentum to continue through the final quarter of FY26, with industry volumes likely to grow 10–12 per cent for the fiscal supported by improving sentiment and rising replacement demand across commercial vehicle (CV) segments.
The current quarter has turned out to be particularly strong and has helped offset the slower periods seen earlier in the year. The company has also gained market share and expects this trend to continue over the next few months, Chairman Dheeraj Hinduja told businessline.
“In electric mobility, Switch Mobility has achieved profitability at the PAT level within a short span. The subsidiary has an order book of over 2,000 electric buses and around 1,200 electric LCVs yet to be delivered,” Hinduja said. The company has also begun exporting electric vehicles,” he added.
Ashok Leyland is currently the only manufacturer of electric double-decker buses, a segment gaining traction among State Transport Undertakings, he noted. As competition in electric buses intensifies, the chairman said that the company remains focused on bidding only for contracts sustainable over the long term, for around 10–12 year periods. “Some of the new age companies are bidding at aggressive pricing,” he noted.
Market rumours
On reports of plans to raise $200 million for Ashok Leyland’s OHM Mobility Unit, CFO KM Balaji said the company does not comment on market rumours. “Ashok Leyland’s Board in the last meeting approved an investment of ₹600 crore in OHM, of which ₹300 crore has already been invested. The remaining ₹300 crore will be infused as and when funds are required. No additional funds have been deployed as of now.”
Hinduja noted that growth is visible across all major CV segments. In trucks, demand has picked up at the entry-level intermediate commercial vehicle (ICV) segment, while growth is more pronounced in tippers and higher-tonnage multi-axle vehicles, driven by infrastructure and construction activity. On the light commercial vehicle (LCV) side, demand remains broad-based, with Ashok Leyland reporting 33 per cent growth in domestic LCV volumes in January alone.
Published on February 11, 2026
