MUMBAI, January 1: Truck maker Ashok Leyland Ltd has decided to cut production down by 25 per cent in the current fiscal due to sagging demand and slowdown in the economy, Gopichand Hinduja, promoter of the company, said here on Thursday.The group has also decided against making an entry into the passenger car market. "There are already many players in the passenger car market, and we do not see any growth prospects," he said.Addressing an informal press meeting in Mumbai, Hinduja said Ashok Leyland had managed to boost its market share by two percentage points in the current financial, despite volumes dropping by at least 30 per cent.The company is now focusing on exports in a bid to maintain volumes. "We are unable to make use of the total capacity of 84,000 units of our plant. We will make only 40,000 units this year like last year."He said, exports which had gone up to 2,000 vehicles this year, were likely to reach 8,000 to 10,000 by 2000. Ashok Leyland also plans to launch a new light commercial vehicle in 1998 and talks are currently on with a probable collaborator. "We will launch a new LCV product in 1998 - if all goes well," Hinduja said. "That means our own evaluation, selecting the right product, and so on."A total of Rs 320 crore would be invested in upgrading facilities at Ashok Leyland's plants in the current financial, he said. "We have not put off our Rs 1,700 rupee investment programme," he said, "But we have delayed it." "Instead of increasing capacity, we are investing more on improving technology. We are investing in making our old engines more environmentally friendly to meet European norms," he added.On its power project, Hinduja said funding for their $ 1.2 billion Vizag power project is nearing completion. Though final clearances from the government to begin work on the 1,040 mw project is yet to come through. The Hinduja group has so far spent $ 50 million on acquisition of land and developmental expenses for the project, expected to take 36 months for completion. The group has undertaken four new power projects in Tamil Nadu and seven small projects in Maharashtra.
