Ashok Leyland unveils hybrid bus

Hinduja group's flagship company Ashok Leyland unveiled on Wednesday the country's first electric plug-in CNG hybrid bus, HYBUS, at the Auto Expo in New Delhi.

Unveiling the bus,  Ashok Leyland managing director R Seshasayee said the government should encourage public transportation and asked for support for production of hybrid buses.

"The government must bring down duty on lithium ion batteries," he said. At present, duty on lithium ion batteries, that powers the drive system of a vehicle, is 18 per cent. According to Seshasayee, compared to conventional bus, powered by IC engine, HYBUS offers significant fuel savings of 20-30 per cent.

These buses will be used during the forthcoming Commonwealth Games in Delhi. "We are happy to lead with green bus technology once again following CNG buses in 1997 and hybrid electric vehicle in 2002," he added.

The company also unveiled ESSI 20, truck with emphasis on green and efficient transportation. Seshasayee said the truck embodies 20 innovative ideas that together deliver 20 per cent better fuel efficiency and correspondingly over 20 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions.

CVs' prices to be hiked soon: According to another report, the company also said on Wednesday that it would hike prices of its commercial vehicles shortly because of rising input costs.

"Commodity prices are going up and we are already considering to hike the prices of our products. It will happen shortly, before March," Ashok Leyland managing director R Seshayee told reporters.

He, however, said there has been a surge in demand of commercial vehicles in the last two quarters and the company expects to close this fiscal at a total sales of about 62,000-63,000 units.

Asked about the sales prospects for next fiscal, he said, "it (growth) should be in double digits."

Seshasayee also said the government must not withdraw the stimulus package provided by it in the wake of the economic downturn.

He said excise duty reduction, especially in the commercial vehicle segment should not be treated as stimulus.

The government has cut excise duty on commercial vehicles to eight per cent in phases to spur growth.

"Commercial vehicles (segment) deserve lower excise duty, therefore that must continue," he said.

Ashok Leyland also said it would execute orders received from 21 state transport bodies for supply of buses by March 31 this year under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewable Mission.

Of the 11,000 orders placed by different state bodies, 51 per cent were bagged by the company.

Image: HYBUS. | Photograph: www.greencarcongress.com/