Ashok Leyland ready to ride on Elon Musk's India dream

MUMBAI: Tesla CEO Elon Musk who has been moving back and forth on his India dream for couple of years and unable to take the next big step now has an invitation from commercial vehicles major Ashok Leyland. Musk wants to make India his next big market but the question lingers: Will the electric car ever run on the bumpy 'desi' roads? According to Venkatesh Natarajan, Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer, Ashok Leyland, the company is open to Musk for a partnership to finally let Indians experience his path-breaking autonomous Tesla electric cars.

"We are open to Musk's offer. I truly believe that it's not just one partner who can contribute to the electric car dream in India. There are multiple agencies who will be involved in this. We will be lucky to be part of that consortium," Natarajan told IANS on the sidelines of the justconcluded AWS India Summit here in the financial capital.

"I go back to the organisation's philosophy and culture. Whenever we see new technology, we like to try it out, just like a small kid who sees a new toy and wants to experiment. We are open in terms of technology adoption -- anything that adds value to our customers," Natarajan noted.

The company, flagship of the Hinduja Group, reported a revenue of Rs 6,325 crore in Q3 (FY 2018-19). Year-to-date (YTD) revenues touched Rs 20,209 crore, up 15 per cent over corresponding period last year.

Rating agency ICRA recently upgraded the longterm rating of fund-based limits of Ashok Leyland to AA+ from AA with stable outlook. The agency believes that Ashok Leyland's financial profile will remain healthy supported by stable demand outlook for the medium and heavy commercial vehicle segment and light commercial vehicle (LCV) segments.

Touted as India's largest bus manufacturer and the fourth largest in the world, the company reported 10 per cent rise in the domestic vehicles sales at 13,141 units in April 2019. The commercial vehicles company had sold 11,951 vehicles in domestic market during the same month last year.

"Ultimately, we need more money. We are in the business of making money. As long as we are able to make more money and help our customers generate more money, we are game to every new technology," Natarajan emphasised.