Leyland Nissan rolls out Dost from Hosur facility

[Zed]

Looking at the branding situation from a Market perspective - am not convinced that the Nissan brand will add value to the SCV being sold in India considering that many buyers are likely to be traders buying just one or two vehicle - i.e not fleet operators. There is a strong case for the Nissan badge for a people carrier though.

[directinjection]

Originally Posted by Zed

Looking at the branding situation from a Market perspective - am not convinced that the Nissan brand will add value to the SCV being sold in India considering that many buyers are likely to be traders buying just one or two vehicle - i.e not fleet operators.

Also, Nissan's earlier inninings in India through its JV with Allwyn was a major disaster resulting in Nissan's exit from India. Cabstar was the least popular of Indo-Jap LCVs. Interestingly, it used an IDI engine. It was taken over by the Mahindras later.

[Zed]

Originally Posted by directinjection

Also, Nissan's earlier inninings in India through its JV with Allwyn was a major disaster resulting in Nissan's exit from India. Cabstar was the least popular of Indo-Jap LCVs.

I suspect the limited success that Allwyn-Nissan had compared to Swaraj-Mazda, Mitsubishi-Eicher & DCM-toyota had to do with the JV partner's sales and service capabilities. Did the Allwny-nissan have a lower GVW compared to the other option ? I recall the cabstar being a tad smaller compared to the rest of the pack or is it just my just my fading memory acting up again ?!

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by directinjection

Cabstar was the least popular of Indo-Jap LCVs. Interestingly, it used an IDI engine. It was taken over by the Mahindras later.

Originally Posted by Zed

Did the Allwny-nissan have a lower GVW compared to the other option ? I recall the cabstar being a tad smaller compared to the rest of the pack or is it just my just my fading memory acting up again ?!

The Allwyn-Nissan trucks were indeed smaller compared to comparision. Those trucks used to have "Mahindra Allwyn Nissan" written on their front grill - this was sometime in 1997~8 period - guess that was after Mahindra got in.

Now this trucks is on the of the best selling models atleast in Kerala - its now called "Mahindra Loadking". I dread seeing them on road, because they are very good "road jammers" - they slow traffic, especially on the narrow roads of Kerala.

They are hot selling in the Tipper segment.

[julupani]

Hmm, coming back to the Dost. Any sales figures for the Dost??

I just checked the Ashok Leyland website for their sales updates. The figures dont seem to include the Dost. I am assuming this since its the usual less than 100 units of "LCV" sales that they normally report.

They should have been able to sell at least a couple hundred, even though its just the first month.

[directinjection]

Cabstar was in Tata 407 category although it had four wheels at the rear. I remember Allwyn Nissan ads showing a tabular comparison of 407 and Cabstar and this was advertised as one of the advantages of Cabstar. Mahindra introduced a direct injection engine when they took over. Not sure if it was the same engine converted to DI or was an alltogether different unit. You guys have any idea?

The other Indo-Jap LCVs were proper 6 tonners (GVW). Of course they were made to carry a lot more since they had relatively big engines which, according to fleet owners, "forced" them to overload in order to reduce the per tonne cost. I remember reading in Business World how Tata's lobbying with Maharashtra RTA authorities resulted in frequent challaning of Indo-Jap LCVs in the state for overloading. This, it was alleged, was done to promote 407's sales which couldn't carry as much load. Later, in 1988, the GVW of 407 was also increased to 5.3 tonnes by switching to bigger tyres among other things.

7 tonne GVW configuration wasn't popular then and Tata's first serious answer to Indo-Jap LCVs also started life as 609 but was later redesignated as 709 in response to AL launching the Iveco Cargo and advertising it as a seven rather than six tonner.

[ram_hyundai]

The tvm showroom is near kaniyapuram.The dealers are EVM motors.There are 2 specimens in showroom.
ram

[KMohanan]

Originally Posted by julupani

Correct, there is also the question of the Leyland badge in this market. Here I think the ALL-Nissan JV would prefer to take the Nissan badge rather than the Leyland badge.

I will think of buying one if it is coming with Leyland badge just for the good old memories of my childhood when I was a fan of Leyland buses and trucks.

[rajeev k]

A showroom is set for opening at Kochi at Bypass south of Vytilla, saw this showroom getting set on last Wednesday. The board says AL Light Vehicles and what that mean? I think it means a lot to AL.

[salbin]

Ashok Leyland enters the Light Vehicle segment
Launches DOST, starting at Rs. 3.79 Lakhs
A modern Dealer Network established

Date:12/9/2011 Published from :Corporate Office

Chennai, September 12th, 2011: Ashok Leyland, the Hinduja Group flagship, today commercially launched DOST – its first entry in India’s fast expanding LCV segment. It also marks the first vehicle to be launched from its Joint Venture with Nissan Motor Company. Competitively priced at Rs. 3.79 lakhs to Rs. 4.39 lakhs (ex-showroom - Chennai), DOST will be sold through a modern dealership network with brand new infrastructure which will grow to 60 main nodes by the end of the current fiscal.

DOST, which has a payload capacity of 1.25T, will be available in three versions with the top-end version featuring air-conditioning, power steering, dual-colour beige-gray trim and fabric seats. The customer will have a palette of three colours to choose from: white, beige and blue. As another ‘first’ in the LCV industry, Ashok Leyland will offer Ready-to-Use Vehicles (RUVs) on the DOST platform for various applications such as Refrigerated containers, Steel containers, Ambulance, Aluminium Fixed Side Decks and Service-At-Site vehicles from the date of launch.

Speaking on the occasion, Dheeraj G. Hinduja, Chairman, Ashok Leyland, said, “With the commercial launch of DOST, Ashok Leyland fills an important gap in its product line up. We had examined the opportunity in this LCV sector for several years. We wanted to make an entry only after we had assured ourselves that we had competitive products as well as a product line expansion strategy. This accelerated since our association with Nissan, who shared our philosophy. I am hopeful that with DOST, Ashok Leyland will write a new chapter of success.”

Dr. V. Sumantran, Executive Vice Chairman, Hinduja Automotive Ltd. and Chairman, Nissan Ashok Leyland Powertrain Ltd. said, “DOST embodies our attempt to deliver to the Indian LCV customer, Japanese technology at Indian costs. It is a true reflection of the evolving needs of today’s Indian LCV customer and we are happy that we have been able to manufacture a product that will be attuned to the growing expectations of the LCV market. We have attempted to pack a lot into DOST – increased payload, improved fuel efficiency as well as class-leading performance, comfort and safety, all aimed at offering a uniquely superior experience at a very competitive cost of ownership.”

DOST enters the Small Commercial Vehicle (SCV) market (below 3.5T) which is witnessing a perceptible upward shift in terms of features, performance and payload. The overall LCV market (up to 7.5T) is growing robustly helped by the increase in urbanisation, organized retailing, improved rural connectivity coupled with growth in rural demand. Adding to this are factors like increased focus on the hub-and-spoke model.

The Ashok Leyland DOST is being initially launched in the 4 Southern states (Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala), Maharashtra and Gujarat and will be made available across the country in a phased manner as the production ramp up is executed.

Source:
Ashok Leyland - In the Media

[KMohanan]

Eagerly awaiting the Passenger version of DOST. 4.39 Lakhs for the full option with PS, PW, AC. Biege Interiors etc seems to be competitive, considering the Nissan 3 cylinder Diesel motor. If Ashok Leyland could launch the passenger version for the same price, the onroad price of the top end variant at Kochi may be about 4.8 lakhs. The interior space is likely to be more than the Tata Venture. In such a situation, it has good chances of success.

[JagMan]

Originally Posted by salbin

Ashok Leyland enters the Light Vehicle segment
Launches DOST, starting at Rs. 3.79 Lakhs
A modern Dealer Network established

i guessed 3.75 in the contest (at the auto world expo in chennai a few months back, they had a contest for people to guess the price of the dost).

they launched it and didnt call me :(

PS: im sure it (the scv's) means a lot not only to AL but also a lot of players. The ace really has created a significant market segment. volumes

[KMohanan]

Originally Posted by JagMan

i guessed 3.75 in the contest (at the auto world expo in chennai a few months back, they had a contest for people to guess the price of the dost).

they launched it and didnt call me :(

PS: im sure it (the scv's) means a lot not only to AL but also a lot of players. The ace really has created a significant market segment. volumes

If the contest was conducted by Ashok Leyland, then, I think, you should send a mail to them indicating that you have guessed it correctly. Atleast, they should have acknowledged.

[JagMan]

Originally Posted by KMohanan

If the contest was conducted by Ashok Leyland, then, I think, you should send a mail to them indicating that you have guessed it correctly. Atleast, they should have acknowledged.

Oh no... i am sure there must have been some one else sitting at 3.79 or even 3.8 which will still have been better then my guess. i was sad that i did not get a call despite indicating that i am looking at a scv purchase in 6 months time.

they did acknowledge my interest. 2 weeks after the event i received a letter, written in tamil (which i can not read) from the dealer saying thank you and that the vehicle will be launched soon. or something. I wont be the one driving the vehicle so no use of them offering a td but a call or letter to inform about pricing would have been nice. they have a sales lead and dont capitalise on it :(

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by JagMan

they did acknowledge my interest. 2 weeks after the event i received a letter, written in tamil (which i can not read) from the dealer saying thank you and that the vehicle will be launched soon. or something. I wont be the one driving the vehicle so no use of them offering a td but a call or letter to inform about pricing would have been nice. they have a sales lead and dont capitalise on it :(

I have seen contact details of Marketing Manager in AL face book page (replied for some post).
Check for it or else you can post it in that and you can look for reply!