Introduction

Ashok Leyland has been one of India s premier commercial vehicle manufacturers over the last five decades. So far, it has put 375,000 vehicles on Indian roads. In 1948, industrialist Raghunandan Saran set up Ashok Motors in what was then Madras, for the assembly of Austin cars. In 1955, British Leyland picked up an equity stake and the company s name was changed to Ashok Leyland. The same year, Ashok Leyland manufacturing commercial vehicles. In 1987, the Hinduja Group and Iveco, the commercial vehicles arm of Fiat of Italy, gained a controlling interest in Ashok Leyland.