Ashok Leyland bags order to supply 1,400 school buses in UAE

Hinduja group flagship company Ashok Leyland on Thursday said it has bagged orders for supply of 1,400 school buses in the United Arab Emirates making it as the company's largest ever order received in that country.

The buses would be supplied from the company's manufacturing unit in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates.

The total fleet deal for the Gulf Cooperation Council made buses has been bagged by the Ashok Leyland's distribution partners in the United Arab Emirates, Swaidan Trading -- Al Naboodah Group.

Most of the supply of buses would be to serve the Emirates Transport and STS Group, a company statement said.

"This is a historic moment for Ashok Leyland in UAE. This is a testament to the reliability, durability and robustness of our buses and reaffirms the faith that our customers have on our buses being the safest for transporting school students," company Executive Chairman Dheeraj Hinduja said.

"These buses are made in the UAE assembly plant. The product concepts originate in the UAE, the designs are done by our engineers and are assembled in UAE with more than 55 per cent parts sourced in UAE," he said.

The company's new electric vehicle company Switch Mobility, based out of the United Kingdom, would help fulfil the aspiration of zero carbon emission transportation, he said.

"We see huge opportunities for growth through Switch's expansion in UAE and the GCC and look forward to launch our electric vehicles in these markets soon," he said.

The 55-seater Falcon bus and 32-seater Oyster bus would be supplied from Ashok Leyland's USD 50 million state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE which is the only certified local bus making facility in the GCC countries, the company claimed in the statement.

The plant has an installed capacity of 4,000 buses a year and since beginning operations in 2008, the company has rolled out 25,500 buses from the manufacturing unit.

"Ashok Leyland is one of the fastest growing brands in the Middle East, with a growing market presence in UAE. Our lowest total cost of ownership and strong after sales support differentiates us and has helped us win these orders," company Head-International Operations, Amandeep Singh said.

"We are excited with the growth we are seeing in the UAE economy...," he said.