Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) recently concluded two events at its manufacturing facility in Bidadi to commemorate International Women's Day 2025 and reinforce its commitment to empowering women and enhancing their representation within the automotive industry.

More than 250 female team members from different shifts and senior executives convened for a special session on 12 March to have meaningful conversations around the topic of ‘Work-Life Balance’. Leading senior female executives from the organisation contributed their insightful experiences and knowledge, helping new professionals better balance their personal and professional obligations. Engaging activities and interactive tests produced a lively environment that encouraged participant camaraderie.

Additionally, the Women's Day festivities reached new heights on 16 March when more than 450 female workers from TKM's manufacturing shifts attended a bigger event that was graced by R Latha (IAS), the Director of the Directorate of Child Protection and the Secretary of the Karnataka State Commission for Women. She inspired the audience by sharing her personal story of how she went from working at State Bank of India to becoming a successful IAS officer. Through performances by gifted female staff members in the forms of singing, dance and Yakshagana, a traditional theatre art from coastal Karnataka, the event also honoured TKM's rich cultural legacy.

The chief guest said, “Empowering women isn't just about opportunities, it's about instilling confidence and inspiring them to set ambitious goals. I’m delighted to see Toyota Kirloskar Motor leading the way in creating an inclusive culture, serving as an exemplary model for the automotive industry. Such initiatives create lasting impacts by not only empowering women professionally but also contributing positively to society at large.”

G Shankara, Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said, “We at Toyota Kirloskar Motor cherish and value the contributions of our women workforce. The enthusiastic participation we've witnessed across both events demonstrates our growing strength in gender diversity, inspiring us to further our goal of achieving 30 percent women representation by 2030. With initiatives like female-friendly workplace infrastructure, rehiring policies for women returning after career breaks, remote working opportunities and our progressive sabbatical policy, we remain committed to continuously enhancing our inclusive workplace.”

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Ashok Leyland, the flagship company of the Hinduja Group, has announced a network expansion for its Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) business in Western India. The company plans to add 30 touchpoints to its existing 150 in the region within one year.

The move aims to support demand for LCVs driven by infrastructure projects and economic growth in Maharashtra and the wider Western region.

At present, it operates with 29 dealer partners, 130 service workshops, and over 350 trained technicians in Western India. This infrastructure provides a service point every 35 kilometres. Following the expansion, Ashok Leyland intends to reduce this distance to 25 kilometres.

Ashok Leyland is focusing on its LCV portfolio, including models such as the ‘Bada Dost’ and ‘Dost’, to increase its market presence. The strategy involves delivering transport solutions for various industries while leveraging technological innovation.

Viplav Shah, Head of LCV Business at Ashok Leyland, said, "The expansion of the LCV networking in Maharashtra and the entire Western region will be a game changer for us. Along with best-in-class mileage, payload, loading area, comfort and reliability that our LCV range offers, now we are taking a big step in multiplying our service reach. We remain committed to strengthening our presence in the Western region, which is a key market for us.”

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Following the success of the XF, XG and XG+ in 2022 and the XD in 2023, DAF XD and XF Electric have bagged the International Truck of the Year 2026 award from a 24-member jury of the International Truck of the Year (IToY) consortium that is made of senior commercial vehicle journalists from the world over.

The award trophy was presented to Harald Seidel, President, DAF Trucks, during the International Awards Gala Evening at the Solutrans trade fair in Lyon, France, recently. With 92 points, the Dutch manufacturer’s heavy-duty electric series finished ahead of its competitors in the final count. The diesel-powered MAN D30 PowerLion provided strong competition, while the fully electric SANY e435 marked the first time a Chinese truck has reached the shortlist for what is considered as the most prestigious commercial vehicle award.

In line with the rules of the IToY, the title is awarded annually to the vehicle introduced in the previous 12 months that has made the greatest contribution to road transport efficiency. The assessment covers a range of criteria, including technological innovation, comfort, safety, driveability, energy efficiency, environmental performance and total cost of ownership.

This is the third consecutive year that an electric truck has taken the title. Of the five vehicles shortlisted for 2026, three were battery-electric models, highlighting that the energy transition remains at the forefront of the truck industry, even as the internal combustion engine continues to evolve.

During extensive test drives, the jury members praised the XD and XF Electric for the perfection of their drivelines and the almost imperceptible gear changes. Their range also benefits from the nine percent aerodynamic improvement achieved across DAF’s latest generation.

The modular vehicle concept, offering a wide choice of battery and axle configurations, was also commended by the jury members for providing operators with exceptional flexibility.

Florian Engel, Chairman, IToY, averred, “With the new XD and XF Electric, DAF Trucks demonstrates that the combination of a central electric motor and a traditional rear axle can be just as energy-efficient as a driveline with an e-axle. Moreover, this DAF configuration provides perfect weight distribution, enabling virtually all use cases to be covered by a single technical platform.”

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Ashok Leyland is riding multiple tailwinds at once viz-a-viz a sharp uptick in exports led by the GCC, a strong domestic CV cycle driven by freight demand and fleet replacement and an expanding electric bus strategy that now includes a potential manufacturing footprint in Indonesia.

Speaking on the sidelines of the company’s Q3FY26 results announcement, Executive Chairman Dheeraj Hinduja and Chief Executive Officer Shenu Agarwal detailed how the company’s international operations, EV roadmap, new product launches and capex programme are aligning to position the CV maker for sustained growth into FY27.

Hinduja highlighted that exports have been extremely good this year with particularly strong traction from Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

“The Saudi market and the UAE market continue to be very strong. We have developed products that are very suitable for these economies and our Ras Al Khaimah plant is working nearly at full capacity,” he said.

The GCC markets are now a key growth engine within Ashok Leyland’s international portfolio and overall overseas operations are expected to close the year on a robust note. The near-full utilisation at the facility underlines not only demand strength but also the company’s increasing localisation and relevance in these markets.

Furthermore, a recent MOU with PT Pindad in Indonesia marks Ashok Leyland’s intent to deepen its presence in Southeast Asia. Hinduja noted that the agreement was signed only last week and is aimed at building a much larger footprint in a sizeable market.

“This opportunity allows us to not only focus on electric buses but also on defence products,” he said, indicating that the partnership has a wider scope than just EV mobility.

While still in early stages, the understanding is that the collaboration could evolve into local manufacturing of vehicles in Indonesia for the domestic market, strengthening Ashok Leyland’s ASEAN presence while aligning with local industrial priorities. “We see good opportunities going forward in the Indonesian market,” Hinduja added.

Promising Q1FY27

On the near-term outlook, Hinduja said the momentum seen from Q1 through Q3 has continued into Q4. “The current quarter is looking very good. We have seen steady growth from Q1, Q2 and Q3, and this current quarter is also looking very strong,” he said, citing CRISIL estimates that suggest the company could close the year with overall growth of 10–12 percent.

Looking ahead, while Q1 is traditionally softer for the industry, the company is seeing encouraging signs. “Generally, Q1 is slightly slower than the rest of the year but at the moment the indications of Q1 are also very good,” he noted.

This optimism is underpinned by what the company believes is not a temporary spike but the start of a sustained replacement-led demand cycle. Agarwal pointed to January’s industry data, where the MHCV segment grew around 27 percent and LCVs over 20 percent as evidence of structural demand.

“We do believe that this is not a short-term blip because of GST. This is a result of overall growth in the consumption economy, which is leading to higher freight demand and higher freight rates,” he said. India’s truck fleet age is currently at an all-time high and the improved freight environment appears to have triggered a long-awaited replacement cycle.

“If the industry was waiting for some kind of a trigger to start this new replacement cycle, we believe that has now happened, and therefore it will go for a longer run,” Agarwal said. A major part of Ashok Leyland’s MHCV strategy lies in the launch of Hippo and Taurus, developed over the past couple of years.

“These products truly represent best-in-class performance and reliability,” Agarwal said. Both trucks deliver peak torque of around 1,600 Nm, among the best in the category and use upgraded driveline aggregates to improve reliability in tough applications such as tippers.

On the tractor side, the focus is on improving turnaround time for customers through higher power and heavy-duty aggregates. “The whole range will be launched between now and April and thereafter we will use the full potential of these products,” he added.

EV demand rising

Despite reports of a slowdown in staff and school bus segments, Ashok Leyland says its order book remains strong across both conventional and electric buses. “Our bus order book is very healthy and very strong at the moment,” Hinduja said.

He noted that the new Lucknow greenfield plant, completed in a record 14 months, has come at the right time to support increased bus demand. The plant is primarily focused on EVs, with phase one capacity of 2,500 units, scalable to 5,000 units.

Agarwal attributed recent industry blips in bus growth to timing issues in STU orders rather than any fundamental demand weakness. “The sentiment is very, very positive even in the staff and school sectors,” he said. Agarwal emphasised that electrification will not be uniform across segments.

“Buses are seeing a huge spike in government purchases. We are very, very optimistic about the electric bus business,” he said. Switch, the company’s EV arm, is fully ready with products for India and overseas markets. A manufacturing base for EV buses is also being set up at the RAK plant, expected to be operational in about 12 months.

Electrification is also expected to gain traction in the 2–4 tonne and intermediate CV categories, where Ashok Leyland was among the first to launch electric offerings. While Ashok Leyland did not directly win tenders in the last 10,000-bus PM e-Bus Sewa round, Switch secured significant orders through an infrastructure partner. Both entities plan to participate in upcoming tenders.

The government’s plan to induct over 50,000 electric buses into STU fleets over the next four to five years is seen as a major opportunity. Switch has already exported EV buses to Mauritius and received an order for 45 buses from Bhutan, underlining its growing international footprint.

Market segments

The company acknowledged some commodity cost pressure in recent months, driven not by steel but by spikes in certain precious metals. This has pushed up Q3 material costs sequentially.

Hinduja expects this pressure to ease within three to four months. Meanwhile, the company is doubling down on efficiency, waste reduction and cost control. Ashok Leyland will close the year with capex of around INR 10–11 billion and plans to invest about INR 10 billion annually over the next two years towards its Centre of Excellence and factory projects.

Agarwal said the company has also consciously grown non-domestic CV businesses including industrial engines, power solutions, defence and spares to reduce dependence on domestic MHCV volumes. “This reduces our break-even point from MHCV domestic sales and gives a lot of strength to the company for future growth,” he said.

Despite being a late entrant in LCVs, Ashok Leyland now holds around 12 percent market share and insists it will not chase growth through discounting. “Our industry is basically TCO-focused. If the customer sees extra value, there is no hesitation in paying more,” Agarwal said, pointing to digitisation, AI-led service initiatives, reliability and turnaround time as key differentiators.

For Ashok Leyland, the strategy is clear with differentiated products, strong service, rising exports, EV readiness and a favourable domestic cycle, all converging as it prepares for the next phase of commercial vehicle growth.

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Chennai-headquartered commercial vehicle major Ashok Leyland has reported its financial results for Q3 FY2026, achieving its best-ever performance for the period.

The company reported a record INR 115.34 billion in revenue, up 22 percent YoY, as compared to INR 94.79 billion for the same period last year. EBITDA margin at 13.3 percent came at INR 15.35 billion, as against 12.8 percent at INR 12.11 billion, clocking a growth of 27 percent YoY. This also marked the 12 consecutive quarter of achieving double-digit EBITDA growth.

Net profit at INR 7.96 billion, grew by 4 percent YoY, which also includes a one-time charge of INR 3.08 billion towards the new labour code.

During the quarter, the company sold 32,929 M&HCVs, up 23 percent YoY and 20,518 LCVs, up 30 percent YoY. Exports came at 4,965 units, as against 4,151 units last year. This translates to a 30 percent market share in the M&HCV segment, and 40 percent in the Bus segment.

Ashok Leyland reported net cash of INR 26.19 billion at the end of Q3 FY2026, as against INR 9.58 billion last year.

The company also recently reintroduced the all-new Hippo and Taurus product range in the tipper and tractor-trailer segments.  

Dheeraj Hinduja, Executive Chairman, Ashok Leyland, said, “Market conditions continue to be favourable, and we are optimistic that this strength will sustain in the medium term across all our businesses, including MHCV, LCV, and Defence. Our strong and consistent growth in volumes and profitability underscores the competitiveness of our portfolio, which delivers superior performance and customer value, reinforced by deep and effective customer engagement across all segments. We are executing a structured pipeline of product introductions across conventional and alternative propulsion platforms to further strengthen our leadership in the domestic market and accelerate our expansion in international markets. Our electric vehicle arm, Switch, has a healthy order book and a well-defined product roadmap. It has started delivering buses in International markets and has achieved positive EBITDA and PAT over the first nine months.”

Shenu Agarwal, Managing Director & CEO, Ashok Leyland, added, “The GST rationalisation has not just lowered prices, but also brought a fillip to the overall freight demand, triggering fresh replacement cycle in the CV industry. With supportive macroeconomic fundamentals and improving customer sentiment, we remain confident about the medium to long-term growth prospects of the CV industry. Our strategy continues to be anchored in delivering profitable growth through sustained product premiumisation, structural cost competitiveness, wider service coverage, and continued focus to grow non-CV businesses. “

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