Ashok Leyland officially launches the Boss ICV truck in India

Ashok Leyland Limited, a utility and commercial vehicle maker from the South of India, has officially launched the Boss truck, which is positioned in the intermediate commercial vehicle segment. The official launch of the Boss in India follows the test-launch of the truck in Madurai, a month ago. Ashok Leyland owns a Czech truck brand called Avia and the Boss is a truck from the Avia range that has been suitably modified and re-badged by Ashok Leyland to suit Indian conditions. 

The main modifications that Ashok Leyland has made to the Boss, along with the re-badging, involves a new driveline for the truck. The Boss is built at Ashok Leyland's Pantnagar factory in Uttarakhand, through a semi-automated assembly line. The Boss is priced between 10.5 and 12 lakh rupees in the Indian market and comes in two variants: LE and LX. The truck can be configured to carry 9.6, 11.9 and 12.9 tonnes of payload. 

Both LE and LX variants of the Boss feature a factory fitted cabin. The LX variant adds air conditioning to the equation. Two engines and two transmission options are offered with the Boss. The LE variant is powered by a BS3 certified, 120 Hp, H-Series turbo diesel engine with an in-line fuel injection pump. This engine is mated to a 6 speed manual gearbox with an overdrive function. The LX variant gets a more powerful, 130 Hp turbo diesel engine that comes with common rail direct injection.

The 130 Hp turbo diesel engine is mated to an automated manual transmission that operates in the following modes:

• Manual mode
• Eco mode in which the gearbox shifts gears automatically at a lower rpm
• Power mode in which the gearbox shifts gears automatically at a higher rpm
• Crawler mode