SCOOP! Ashok Leyland's new Avia trucks undergoing tests

Pictures of Ashok Leyland's (ALL) upcoming truck range undergoing testing were snapped up by BHPian Chef-de-jeep near Chennai.

The truck he spotted was an 'Avia' (acquired by ALL in 2006).

ALL will be launching the Avia range in July 2013 (the trucks are manufactured at the Pant Nagar plant in Uttarakhand). ALL's Avia range of trucks will span a range from 6.5 - 12 tonne. 

Avia itself has seen minuscule sales of merely 1,003 vehicles sold in 2012 (600 were sold the year before).

While its important markets are Russia & USA (45% of sales), Avia's Euro 5 trucks are also sold in Central Europe, UK, France, Germany and the Benelux countries. It will release a new range of 15 tonne trucks by the second quarter of this year, and bring out Euro 6 trucks in the fourth quarter. 

The turbocharged, inter-cooled engines from Cummins are Euro 5 standard and come in 3 states of tune (160, 185 & 207 BHP respectively). The transmission is a 6-speed ZF. ABS and disc brakes all round are standard. The truck's cabins look quite good too.