Recording a 353 percent increase in the revenue for the first quarter of FY2021-22 at INR 29,510 million in comparison to the revenue generation of INR 6,510 million in the corresponding quarter of FY2020-21, Ashok Leyland is confident of a strong demand emerging post the second Covid-19 wave. Clocking export volumes of 1,437 units in the first quarter of FY2021-22, up 254 percent when compared to the export of 405 units in the first quarter of FY2020-21, the commercial vehicle manufacturer is concentrating on vaccination and the adherence of safety protocols to try and ensure that all its stakeholders stay protected from a potential third wave. Experiencing a 1,041 percent growth in domestic M&HCV volume in the first quarter of FY2021-22, which is almost twice than that of the industry growth volume at 562 percent during the same period, the company has reported a net loss of INR 28,20 million in the first quarter of FY2021-22 as against a net loss of INR 38.90 million in the corresponding quarter of FY2020-21. Selling 8,690 LCVs in the domestic market in the first quarter of FY2021-22, up 224 percent as compared to the sale of 2,686 LCVs in the corresponding quarter last fiscal, Ashok Leyland is closely observing the way the freight rates are shaping up. It is confident that freight rates will improve with higher availability of commercial vehicles once the Covid-19 subsidies and uncertainty fades. “We are hoping for the volumes to grow higher as the market gets better,” mentioned Mahadevan. “July (2021) has been a growth month,” he added. Stressing that they have had eight months of degrowth, Mahadevan said, “Economic growth will induce growth in CVs.”

CV trends
Working on a strategy for a robust domestic and exports growth, the commercial vehicle major is appointing dealers in Africa. Looking at gaining good traction in South East Asia, Ashok Leyland will launch new products in the LCV segment even though not in the immediate quarter. Buoyed by the international markets opening up and experiencing export thrust, the company is said to be testing an electric version of its LCV platform on which the Bada Dost is based in the UK. This vehicle is expected to be launched at the end of this fiscal or in the first half of the next fiscal. Of the opinion that electric vehicles are catching up, especially at the local point of use, on the encouragement of the governments, Mahadevan averred, “It is more to do with buses, but trucks will catch up.” Seeing a trend of petrol commercial vehicles in the low-tonnage segment of sub-1 tonne to 1.5 tonne, Mahadevan drew attention to the push on CNG. “We are ready in the LCV and ICV (segment),” he added. Of the firm belief that diesel vehicles will continue and the IC engine will coexist and not die overnight, Mahadevan said, “We are ready to cater to higher demand.” 
 

Watching closely how freight operators are able to pass on the fuel price hike to their end customers, Ashok Leyland is hoping that bus commute will pick up. A 40,000 units per annum market, according to Mahadevan, buses have been severely affected due to the Covid-19-led disruption. Delivering 40 electric buses to the city of Chandigarh recently (from where it has bagged an order to build and maintain e-buses with quick charging technology), Ashok Leyland is expecting pent-up demand to show up once normalcy returns. Also expecting demand to show up because of the need to ferry people without sacrificing social distancing norms, Mahadevan drew attention to their work towards further strengthening their position in the bus and LCV market segments. With the talk of schools reopening in regions where the Covid-19 infections are down, and the relaxation in Covid-19 norms in some region allowing more employees to return to their offices, bus demand is expected to improve post witnessing a sudden downfall mid-last year. Through the establishment of Switch Mobility, Ashok Leyland is keen to experience a speedier ride in the ‘cleaner and greener’ bus space. 
 

Managing costs and productivity 
Eyeing international markets like the US, Europe and Japan, the company, through the Switch Mobility subsidiary, has worked with a few consultants to make sure that its data points and numbers are on par with the current situation. Under Switch Mobility, it is developing new products to present an advantage of unique position in terms of value and premium positioning. For its Switch Mobility subsidiary that includes the erstwhile Optare of UK, Ashok Leyland has managed to get USD 18 million worth of investment from Dana Incorporated (Dana), a US-based manufacturer of drivetrain and e-propulsion systems. To do de-bottlenecking once enough demand is evident, Ashok Leyland, investing sufficiently in terms of capex, is confident of seeing early growth sprouts in LCVs. Therefore, if it were to do immediate capex investment, it would be in LCVs. Discussing with scrappage centres post the announcement of the scrappage policy, Ashok Leyland, the second-largest CV maker in the country, is witnessing good traction from its other business verticals like defence, power solutions and aftermarket. They are contributing to its top line. 
 

With the pace of vaccination picking up and positively setting in, Ashok Leyland is expecting a demand spike in commercial vehicles after the fear of a third Covid-19 wave is over. This, according to Mahadevan, could happen in the second half of this fiscal. Focusing on costs, productivity and middle level management, the commercial vehicle major is also concentrating on reducing its carbon footprint. Apart from announcing strategic steps to move towards net zero carbon mobility through Switch Mobility, Ashok Leyland, said Mahadevan, has formed an ESG committee of the Board. The committee will guide and propel the commercial vehicle manufacturer to achieve its sustainability agenda.
 

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Chinese automotive major BYD is on an expansion spree; the world’s leading electric vehicle manufacturer is said to be in conversation with automakers in Europe for acquiring their underused production facilities, says Bloomberg.

The revelation was made in an interview with Stella Li, Vice-President of International Operations, BYD, who said, “We are talking to not only Stellantis, but also other companies too. We are looking for any available plant in Europe because we want to utilise this kind of spare capacity."

It is important to note that BYD is already setting up its own production facility in Szegad, Hungary, which is set to be operational next year.

The Chinese automaker is already the world’s biggest electric vehicle manufacturer, but has been under pressure on the back of weak domestic demand. It has been actively looking to expand its product portfolio and sales in newer markets.

Interestingly, the report further mentioned that BYD may also be open to acquiring European luxury brands such as Stellantis’ Maserati, which she found ‘very interesting’.

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After reports of a lack of availability or less availability of petrol, diesel and CNG came in from various parts of India, the news is out that the state refiners have hiked the price of petrol and diesel by roughly INR 3 per litre across major parts of India.

The hike in petrol and diesel prices has come after four years and against the background of the West Asia conflict involving US, Israel and Iran. Since the conflict began a few months back, the prices of crude oil per barrel have been rising. They stand at approximately USD 107.09 per barrel as of current. 

The price increase, industry sources aware of the overall development in the crude oil sector indicate, is only about one-tenth of the rise that would be necessary to make up for the losses the oil refiners are incurring at the moment. 
The increase in petrol and diesel prices follows the increase in CNG prices by around INR two sometime ago by providers like Mahanagar Gas. 

While the Union Petroleum Minister is known to assert that there is no shortage of fuel in the country, there have been reports from regions like the stretch of the Mumbai-Goa highway in Maharashtra, where pumps have run dry. There have been reports from regions like Nagpur in central India, where truckers have had to halt their journey as pumps ran dry of fuel earlier than expected and had to limit the quantity of fuel they could provide to their consumers. 

Petrol in Mumbai now costs INR 106.68 per litre, approximately, whereas diesel now costs INR 93.4 per litre, roughly. CNG per kg retails at about INR 84, up from the earlier INR 82.

As a result of the price rise in all the fuels used by the mobility sector, a fear is growing that the freight rates will go up, which would have a ripple effect on the prices of commodities. Other than plastics and metals, the prices of various oils, including cooking oil, are expected to go up somewhat if not sharply.   

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The Climate Pledge, co-founded by Amazon, has introduced a landmark evidence-based framework for converting India's diesel freight fleet to battery electric trucks, developed alongside the C40 Cities climate network. The National EV Highway Guidance Framework lays out a staggered timeline starting with 20 priority highways named by the Ministry of Heavy Industries, with an initial target of 2027. The plan extends to industrial zones and port connections, aiming for a fully integrated electric freight network nationwide by 2035.

India faces rapidly rising freight demand, projected to grow more than four times by mid-century. Roadways already handle nearly seventy percent of all goods moved, and despite medium and heavy trucks representing only three percent of vehicles, they generate roughly 53 percent of particulate emissions. Electrifying freight supports the national goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2070.

The framework builds on the Laneshift pilot, a collaboration that united truck makers, fleet operators, logistics firms and financiers. On the Bengaluru–Chennai corridor, electric trucks logged over 200,000 kilometres across 600 trips, providing data on performance and operating costs while encouraging early adoption through multi-year contracts. A 6,500-kilometre trial along the Golden Quadrilateral further tested scalability. The pilot proved operational feasibility across all scenarios and commercial viability for daily runs above 400 kilometres, resulting in a 4.2-fold jump in electric truck orders and long-term commercial agreements.

The framework outlines priorities spanning charging infrastructure, demand generation and fleet operations. Aligned with the government's push for electrification, the roadmap offers a practical pathway to transform one of India's most emissions-intensive sectors.

Dr O P Agarwal, Distinguished Fellow, NITI Aayog, said, “India’s transition to cleaner freight will require strong collaboration across government and industry. The EV Highway Guidance Framework launched under the Laneshift programme today is an important step in this direction and will help create a scalable pathway for electric trucking in the country. Through the e-FAST India platform, NITI Aayog has been bringing together logistics operators, OEMs, energy providers and financial institutions to build an enabling ecosystem for freight electrification. Building on these efforts, partnerships led by C40 Cities, The Climate Pledge and private sector stakeholders such as Amazon and Ashok Leyland demonstrate how collaborative action can help move electric freight from pilots to large-scale deployment.”

Abhinav Singh, VP, Operations, India and Australia, Amazon, said, “We continue to invest in making our operations more sustainable, and electrifying our logistics is a key part of that effort. Through The Climate Pledge, we are also working with stakeholders to help scale electric freight solutions more broadly in India. The project findings and framework are encouraging and reinforce the importance of continued collaboration between government and industry to accelerate adoption.”

Naim Keruwala, Regional Director for South and West Asia at C40 Cities, said, “Decarbonising freight is not a future ambition; it is an immediate economic and public health imperative for the country. Laneshift has shown that zero-exhaust-emission trucks can operate commercially on long-haul corridors, that costs are coming down and that when the right stakeholders align their efforts, barriers give way. India has the scale, the policy momentum and the industry appetite to be the next frontier.”

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The share of electric buses in new bus sales in India is expected to reach 35-40 percent by FY2035, from the current level of around 7 percent states a recent report titled ‘Electrifying India’s Bus Industry – The Decade of Transformation’ by KPMG.

It indicates that the bus sector is entering a phase of structural change with the shift being driven by urbanisation, sustainability commitments and government-led mobility initiatives.

The report notes that the Indian bus market, which typically averages 35,000 to 50,000 units annually, is transitioning due to electrification and infrastructure investment. Buses currently account for nearly 57 percent of passenger-kilometres travelled in the country. Data shows that 16,300 electric buses were operational in India as of March 2026, and approximately 62,000 e-bus tenders have been issued to date.

Rohan Rao, Partner, KPMG India, said, “India’s electric bus transition is moving beyond a policy-led initiative to becoming a structural transformation opportunity for the broader mobility ecosystem. Public transport electrification has already created strong momentum, supported by government procurement programmes, improving cost economics, and increasing infrastructure investments.”

Raghavan Viswanathan, Partner, KPMG in India, added, “India’s e-bus ecosystem is entering a critical phase where scale, localisation and execution capabilities will become key differentiators. While public transport undertakings continue to lead adoption, the next phase of growth is expected to emerge from private intercity mobility, airport transport, platform-based mobility solutions and corporate fleets.”

The analysis finds that electric buses offer 70 percent higher energy efficiency and lower lifetime emissions than diesel equivalents. In public intracity operations, electric buses have reached total cost of ownership parity with diesel and CNG variants under high-utilisation scenarios.

Government schemes, such as PM-eBus Sewa, are projected to save between 1 and 2 million tonnes of CO2 and reduce oil imports by USD 2 to 3 billion over the concession period.

Projections suggest that India will tender nearly 40,000 additional electric buses by 2030. Within the public transport segment specifically, electric vehicle penetration is expected to exceed 85 percent by FY2035. Coordination between manufacturers, financiers and infrastructure providers remains a factor in achieving these targets.

Representational image courtesy: Tata Motors

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