Ashok Leyland is an Indian automobile manufacturing company headquartered in Chennai, India. It is owned by the Hinduja Group.
Founded in 1948, it is the 2nd largest commercial vehicle manufacturer in India, 4th largest manufacturer of buses in the world and 12th largest manufacturer of trucks globally. Operating nine plants, Ashok Leyland also makes spare parts and engines for industrial and marine applications. It sold around 1,40,000 vehicles in FY 2016. It is the second largest commercial vehicle company in India in the medium and heavy commercial vehicle (M&HCV) segment, with a market share of 32.1% (FY 2016). With passenger transportation options ranging from 10 seaters to 74 seaters (M&HCV = LCV), Ashok Leyland is a market leader in the bus segment. The company claims to carry more than 70 million passengers a day, more people than the entire Indian rail network. In the trucks segment Ashok Leyland primarily concentrates on the 16 to 25-ton range. However, Ashok Leyland has a presence in the entire truck range, from 7.5 to 49 tons.
Ashok Leyland's UK subsidiary Optare has shut down its bus factory in Blackburn, Lancashire.[4] This subsidiary's traditional home in Leeds has also been vacated in favor of a purpose-built plant at Sherburn-in-Elmet.
