Ashok Leyland to set up its first unit in UP; Yogi calls it ‘milestone’

LUCKNOW: In a push to the state government’s plans to promote electric vehicles in Uttar Pradesh, commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland has signed an MoU with the UP government to set up an electric bus manufacturing plant in the state.
The MoU, signed in the presence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, outlines the details of the facility which Ashok Leyland will establish, its first in UP. The company will set up an integrated commercial vehicle bus manufacturing plant, focused on e-mobility, at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore near Lucknow. It will concentrate on the production of e-buses but will also have the facility to assemble other vehicles which are operated on conventional fuel.
Calling the occasion a ‘milestone‘ for the people of UP, the CM expressed surprise that Ashok Leyland had not come into UP earlier. “UP has a population of 25 crore, the highest in the country. It is the youth capital of India. The state is committed to providing security and facilities to all its investors,” he said.
Industries that used to avoid coming here till six years back are now expanding their establishments after having invested here once. Ashok Leyland’s decision to invest in UP is timely and the entire Hinduja Group will benefit from it,” he said.
The CM said that the proposal to set up the plant is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of reducing the country’s dependence on traditional fuels. He said that the UP government is eager to attract investment from the private sector for its Net Zero mission. “Reducing emissions through cleaner public and freight transportation is an important step in that direction. Today, most of the EVs are registered in UP and efforts are underway to develop more charging stations. Electric vehicles are being incorporated into the UPSRTC fleet and EVs are being operated in various cities,” he said.

Dheeraj Hinduja, chairperson of Ashok Leyland, said that the company was celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. He said that the administrative environment in UP is conducive to the development of industries and the company was eager to take advantage of it.
He said that the company had its first discussion about investing in UP on August 10 and on September 15, it had already signed an MoU with the government. “Everything has been finalized within a mere 36 days. The new unit will start in the next 18 months. Work on various dimensions of e-mobility will be done in the state in a phased manner. We are working on a plan to convert out entire fleet of diesel buses and commercial vehicles into electric and other alternative fuels in the coming years,” he said.
“Upon commencement of operations, the manufacturing facility will initially have the capacity to produce 2,500 buses a year,” the company said in a press release. “The company intends to gradually expand this capacity to accommodate up to 5,000 vehicles per year over the next decade as the demand for electric and other types of buses is expected to grow substantially over the next few years,” it added.
Once operational, this will be the seventh vehicle plant of Ashok Leyland in the country. Ashok Leyland is the second largest commercial vehicle maker in the country after Tata Motors.
Nand Gopal Gupta ‘Nandi,’ the Minister for Industrial Development, Export Promotion, NRI, and Investment Promotion of the Uttar Pradesh government, stated that Ashok Leyland’s decision to establish a unit in Uttar Pradesh will further enhance the strength of the company. He said that this will create additional employment opportunities for our youth, thereby improving their skills and strengthening the overall economy of the region.