Leyland ready to battle slowdown

So, this time, we are better prepared to ride over the downturn," Hinduja said.The contraction in the sales of commercial vehicles started with the introduction of the axle load norms in July 2018. "The turnaround time of the vehicle increased, the number of trips increased, reliability of the vehicle increased and the uptime too increased, leading to lower demand," said Anuj Katharia, chief operating officer, Ashok Leyland. The long-haul vehicles of the company were affected the most as a result of the axle norms. "The intermediate commercial vehicles (ICVs) were least affected, the tippers are also doing well because of infrastructure projects. However, the mobilisation of projects is yet to happen and with the late monsoons, the economy should turn around," said Katharia. The bus segment has seen a growth of around one per cent owing to orders from state governments.With liquidity improving and dealer stock reducing, the company is hoping on some pre-buying before the BS-VI norms kick in. "It hasn't happened so far. If it does, then much of our inventory levels will come down," said Katharia.Along with the new BS-VI engine, the company is introducing a common modular platform for its commercial vehicles as well as buses. "There will be significant cost reduction because of the modular platform and it will also help us to meet customer requirements with multiple options of loading spans, cabins, suspensions and drivetrains," said Katharia. DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The Telegraphhttp://langleygymnastics.ca/ActivityFeed/MyProfile/tabid/61/UserId/942038/Default.aspx