Ashok Leyland eyes over Rs 2,000 crore from defence business in 5 years

Hinduja group flagship Ashok Leyland expects its defence business to log four-fold jump in revenues at over Rs 2,000 crore in next five years as it gears up to provide an entire range of mobility solutions, including missile carrying vehicles, to the armed forces.

"In defence, we have got tremendous growth. We have won 13 out of the last 15 tenders..We are today a Rs 500 crore company in defence and in five years we should be well above Rs 2,000 crore," Ashok Leyland MD Vinod Dasari told PTI.

The company aims to accomplish its revenue targets even as it remains entirely focused just on the mobility part, he added.

"We are not going to make guns, we are not going to make ammunition. Anything in armed forces that requires movement we will move. This is an extension of our core competency. We are not going to diversify, mobility will be the focus," Dasari said.

The company has moved up the value chain from just the provider of 4X4 vehicles to the army and now provides a range of solutions, including products to move large missiles.

"We have gone from just making 4X4 vehicles to 6X6 and 8X6. We make bridge launchers on 10X10. We have already won tenders for that, we have 12X12 that can carry a missile," Dasari said.

Ashok Leyland Defence Systems (ALDS), a division of Ashok Leyland, manufactures various products catering to all logistics requirements including troop/load carrying vehicle, light recovery vehicles, field artillery tractor and truck fire fighting, among others.

Ashok Leyland Limited