Fully-built trucks by Leyland soon

In a move which may bring about major changes in the way truck companies operate, the second largest vehicle maker in the country, Ashok Leyland is planning to sell fully built trucks ( HCV- high density commercial vehicles and MDV- medium density commercial vehicles) in the market.

So far, truck owners used to buy chassis from commercial vehicle manufacturers such as Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Eicher, Mahindra & Mahindra and get the body built from small enterprises so as to minimise the costs.

The cost of building a truck body comes to around Rs 3 lakh and the truck owner will be able to save about Rs 1 to Rs 2 lakh if it is built by a small company, although he may have to compromise on quality.

R Seshasayee, managing director, Ashok Leyland, said the company was in talks with such firms to supply truck bodies for it's MCV's and HCV's. The company will source truck bodies from domestic players who will strictly adhere to the quality standards set by the truck maker, he said.

He, however, declined to reveal the names of the companies nor gave a time frame for the finalisation of the deal. Seshasayee pointed out currently the intermediate commercial vehicles ( which is a 9 tonne truck between a MCV and LCV) were sold as fully built vehicles.

Major truck-body building companies include Jaico, Prakash and Azaad. Irizar TVS currently builds bus bodies for Ashok Leyland in which it has stake along with Sundaram of TVS group and Spain-based Irizar S Coop.

Ashok Leyland is planning to offer customised trucks, depending on the type of goods to be transported. For transporting perishable products, the body will be designed differently as compared with vehicles built for carrying cool drinks or cement.

An industry observer said by buying a fully built truck from the manufacturer, the truck operator can be sure of the quality of the body which will guarantee a longer life for the truck.

R Sridhar, managing director, Shriram Transport Finance, said this will benefit the truck operator as the trucks would be available immediately. Otherwise, the truck operator will have to wait for two months for the body to be built.

Tata Motors, the largest player in the commercial vehicle market, does sells fully-built trucks in the domestic market but the numbers are small. The company has sold about 4.3 lakh vehicle (HCV, MCV and light commercial vehicles) in 2005-06.

The recent directive of the Supreme Court to strictly curb overloading of trucks has already raised the demand for commercial vehicles.

According to the company's annual report, this will warrant significant changes in vehicle design to enhance productivity.