Ashok Leyland will launch its Unitruck global truck platform in 2010.
The new range, which will be rated between 16 and 49 tonnes will, according to the company, be equipped with the Neptune engine which, according to this report, already meets Euro IV standards, but can be redeveloped to meet Euro V.
The Indian truck market is now of considerable interest to many Western OEMs; Daimler and AB Volvo have recently finalised JVs with Hero and Eicher respectively, whilst MAN's Force Motors deal is seen by the company as a significant part of its future strategy. Even the rather more parochial US OEMs have dipped their toes in Indian waters, with Navistar (Mahindra International) and even the normally very travel-shy Paccar having a footprint therein. Then there's the Tata-Iveco saga / non-saga depending on what day of the week it is.
Ashok's move looks to be aimed towards export to - we would imagine - Eastern Europe and Russia, as well as the Middle East. Avia-badged for Europe, we shouldn't wonder. Ashok Leyland needs to bump up its foreign earnings, as - and witnessed by its most recent quarterly report - India is no longer the reliable revenue stream that it was a couple of years back. Seems strange to us that the Western OEMs are piling in just as the indigenous OEMs are piling out, but, in these troubled times, who knows what is for the best.