Ashok Leyland,Nissan JV to roll out LCV

“Things (JV with Nissan) are on schedule and everything is moving along. The first light commercial vehicle (CV) will be rolled out in 2011,” Hinduja Automotive Executive Vice- Chairman V Sumantran told reporters here.

The JV will roll out “three families of light trucks” in the first phase,which will be equally distributed below 7.5 tonnes category.

On investment front,Sumantran said: “Due to delay in availability of land,we have started executing the Phase I by using the facilities at our plant as well as Nissan’s plant.

We are still waiting for land … We will be able to do the Phase I with little less than 50 per cent of the total announced investment.”

The JV had originally planned to have an initial LCV production capacity of 1.80 lakhs units annually,but now it will do it in phases,he said,but added that the phasing process is yet to be announced.

Ashok Leyland Nissan Vehicles,in which the Indian partner has a 51 per cent stake and the remaining equity is held by Nissan,was announced in 2007 to manufacture LCVs as part of three JVs between the two partners.

The other two JVs pertain to manufacturing of powertrains and developing technology.

On product development,Sumantran said: “All LCVs will be engineered in India,but some will have donor platforms,but (they) will be restructured.”

When asked if the JV would enter the sub-one tones segment to compete with Tata Motors’ Ace,he said: “It is very unlikely to be in the very small CV segment,at least in the first phase.”

The two partners have agreed to go for separate badging of the products to be manufactured by the JV.

Sumantran said it will not hurt the fortunes of the two joint venture partners.

“Some will be for commercial applications,while some will be for personal applications,” he added.

Earlier this year,Ashok Leyland Managing Director R Seshasayee had said some products in the value segment will bear the Ashok Leyland name,while those in the niche segment will have the Nissan badge.