Ashok Leyland announces entry into armoured vehicles

Truck manufacturer Ashok Leyland today announced three new products – Armoured Stallion, Armoured Bus and Mine Protected Vehicle – at DEFEXPO 2010. “Our entry into armoured vehicles is in answer to an ever-increasing demand from the Armed Forces for well-engineered, high-mobility, high protection, tactical vehicles that can be used in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist operations,” said Mr. Vinod K Dasari, Chief Operating Officer and Whole Time Director, Ashok Leyland. “Over the last three decades we have been playing a pivotal role in the modernization of the Indian Army and with these new tactical offerings and more on the anvil, we are well-placed to engage the Armed Forces on more fronts in terms of product opportunities and also look at new geographies,” he added. Ashok Leyland has over 55,000 special purpose vehicles in service with the Defence forces that include the Stallion 4x4, Light Recovery Vehicles, Water Bowzers, Truck Fire Fighters and Field Artillery Tractors. The Indian sub-continent with its diversity and complexity of terrains, provides an ideal proving ground and the Company’s special applications vehicles have been performing in altitudes varying from sea level to over 5,500 meters above sea level and in temperatures ranging from –40 Degrees Celsius to +55 Degrees Celsius. All these three new products showcased at the Expo have been developed using the standard Stallion aggregates and components to ensure commonality of items, ease of maintenance and repairs, thereby significantly improving the uptime of the vehicles.