Truck and bus maker Ashok Leyland’s management said its cash holding now exceeds its debt position, bolstering its investment plans for the coming year. Executive chairman Dheeraj Hinduja tells Swaraj Baggonkar that a sound pick-up in demand, new product launches, and listing of its finance subsidiaries will be the highlights for FY26.

January saw a pick-up in demand. RBI has lowered the repo rate, and the government has also raised the tax-free income limit. How optimistic are you about CV demand for the coming fiscal?

It is slightly early to say; we need to see exactly how all the new policies filter into the economy and also the rate cuts which will eventually get passed on to benefit the industry. This quarter is looking good, and if it continues, we should see a good revival in the next year. We will be in a better position to comment in another 4-5 weeks.

Will FY25 end in negative or flat compared to FY24?

This year will be flat. People keep looking at the volume number of FY19 (peak year), but when you look at the tonnage, that has already gone ahead. Going forward, we are going to continue our growth irrespective of the economic conditions.

Ashok Leyland is making a solid push for EVs. What funds have been earmarked for the segment?

We have said the board has approved further Rs 500 crore to be provided for Optare.  Our focus is very much to try and see how we can expand the product portfolio—not only for EVs but other alternate fuel types as well. We feel comfortable that the type of market leadership we have on our current ICE (internal combustion engine) products, we should continue with our EV and other fuel types.

Leadership across CV segments or in passenger carriers?

The passenger-carrying segment for sure, but many of the segments that we have entered, we have introduced two products and we will expand that. We showcased EVs at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo and we will get those products to the market as well.

What’s the update on the plans of reverse-merging the finance company into NXT Digital?

We were going through all regulatory processes and approvals and that all seems to have come through now. We are hoping that in Q1FY26, we should be able to see Hinduja Leyland Finance being listed. 

Will the Rs 200-crore funding into Hinduja Leyland Finance be the last before its listing?

I don’t think the company requires any additional funding. This would be the last fundraising that they are doing from Ashok Leyland.

How well has PM eBus Seva structured for you?

It is good for promotion of EVs, but irrespective of that, all the states are looking at purchasing EVs. So, this definitely adds to the momentum but fortunately all the states are going through this programme. So, I am quite bullish about how the future of electric buses is going.