The flagship of the Hinduja Group, Ashok Leyland is the second largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles in India, the fourth largest manufacturer of buses in the world, and the 17th largest manufacturer of trucks. Headquartered in Chennai, it has nine manufacturing plants: seven in India, a bus manufacturing facility in Ras Al Khaimah, one in Leeds and a JV with Alteams Group for the manufacture of aluminium components for the automotive and telecommunications sectors. This $ 2.30 billion company has a footprint that extends across 50 countries. Its diversified product range spans 1-t gvw (gross vehicle weight) to 55-t gtw (gross trailer weight) in trucks, nine to 80-seater buses, vehicles for defence and special applications, and diesel engines for industrial, genset and marine applications. Vipin Sondhi, Managing Director & CEO, Ashok Leyland, shares more on the company, its legacy, plans and prospects…. What is a key parameter that has contributed to you being among the most admired brands in construction? Our philosophy of ‘Aapki Jeet, Hamari Jeet’ drives us. We have a laser sharp focus on what our customers want and we deliver. Customer-centricity drives admiration and we go that extra step to make our customers happy. How did you fare against the backdrop of the pandemic? The commercial vehicle (CV) segment was anyway coming out of a long downturn and the pandemic did not help. However, we have been seeing month-on-month growth and we are hopeful this will continue. In Q3 FY21, we saw a marked improvement in performance. All our newly launched products and our innovative i-Gen6 (Mid-NOx) BS6 solution have proved their mettle. Also, Digital Nxt, an industry-first combination of three innovative digital solutions, has become extremely popular with fleet owners. Our performance for Q3 that resulted in a positive EBITDA of 5.3 % was owing to revenue enhancement and operational efficiency initiatives. This focus will continue. What do your customers value most about you? Our customers value our consistent performance and they trust the brand for reliable returns. Are your products priced higher than your competitors? Customers don’t only look at the price; they look at total cost of ownership (TCO). Our job is not done when we sell a product. Our job actually begins when a customer buys our product. Keeping the vehicle operational at the lowest cost is the crux of our business and that is where we excel. Tell us about your plans for FY21-22 that will enhance your ‘admiration quotient’. We have our eyes set to lead the transition to sustainable and environment-friendly solutions while keeping our core intact. We aim to be among the top 10 CV makers globally. Our customers and stakeholders will be happy to see what we do in coming months to achieve this.