Hinduja Automotive, the holding company of the Hinduja Group that manufactures trucks and buses under the Ashok Leyland tag is exploring opportunities in the aerospace sector.

According to Mr V Sumantran EVP of Hinduja Automotive, We are obviously looking at what we can do in the aerospace industry, but there are no clear plans at this point. All we have right now is a study group that is looking at various options, but we have not yet finalized any plans. On whether our foray will be into testing, designing or component manufacturing some development on this front will be finalized hopefully in 2011.

Mr Sumantran told Business Standard that the light commercial vehicle joint venture between the company’s flagship firm Ashok Leyland and Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Company was going well on track.

The JV plans to launch trucks in three models in the 5 to 7.5 gvw (gross vehicle weight) category, which accounted for about 13% of the LCV category last financial year. While two models, carrying the Ashok Leyland badge, will be rolled out in mid 2011 from its facility at Hosur in Tamil Nadu, the third one will hit the roads from Nissan’s Oragadam plant near Chennai.

Mr Sumantran said that “We had said that the manufacturing capacity of these three vehicles would be in excess of 100,000 in Phase I, which will last for the next two to three years. But the vehicles will start rolling out in the summer of 2011, and we will stick to that.”

Stating that the company had been allocated some lands at Hosur, he said the company proposed to set up a Greenfield plant for manufacturing vehicles for the JV, once it was through with the Phase I. He added that “An announcement with regard to the Greenfield project will be announced in the early part of 2011.”

(Sourced from BS)