Ashok Leyland is an automobile manufacturing company from India based in Chennai, India. It is owned by the Hinduja Group. Founded in 1948, it is the second largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles in India, the fourth largest manufacturer of buses in the world and the sixteenth largest manufacturer of trucks worldwide. Operating six plants, Ashok Leyland also manufactures spare parts and engines for industrial and marine applications. It sells about 60,000 vehicles and about 7,000 engines per year. It is the second largest commercial vehicle company in India in the medium and heavy commercial vehicle segment (M & HCV), with a market share of 28% (2007-08). With passenger transportation options ranging from 19 seats to 80 seats, Ashok Leyland is a market leader in the bus segment. The company claims to have more than 60 million passengers a day, more people than the entire Indian rail network. In the segment of trucks Ashok Leyland concentrates mainly in the range of 16 to 25 tons. However, Ashok Leyland has a presence in the entire range of trucks, from 7.5 to 49 tonnes. With a joint venture with Nissan Motors of Japan the company made its presence in the segment of light commercial vehicles (LCV) (<7,5 tons).
British branch Optare of Ashok Leyland has closed its bus factory in Blackburn, Lancashire. The traditional home of this subsidiary in Leeds has also been vacated in favor of a plant specifically built in Sherburn-en-Elmet. Ashok Leyland has been a pioneer in driver training in India recognizing the vital role of the driver in the commercial vehicle industry. In fact, there is empirical evidence that proper training can result in 5% or more of fuel savings, resulting in a 3% reduction in total operating cost. We offer driver training to fleet owners, their drivers, individual drivers and owners who appreciate that professionally trained drivers can make a significant difference to their business. Training is also provided to drivers in the unorganized sector.