Guwahati: Hinduja NSE 0.54% Group flagship Ashok Leyland NSE -4.64% on Tuesday said it would open 10 outlets in the North-Eastern parts of the country to strengthen its presence in the region and meet rising demand and inaugurated a dealership in Guwahati as part of the exercise. The Chennai headquartered heavy commercial vehicle maker also delivered 33 fully built 4,825 trucks to cement major Dalmia Cements in the city.

"Our presence in the North East just got strengthened today with the inauguration of our state-of-the-art 3S (sales, service, and spares) 18 bay dealership -- D R Brijmohan & Sons in Guwahati, Assam. Wishing the Team the very best", Ashok Leyland MD and CEO Vipin Sondhi said in a tweet.

The dealership, spread across 1.15 lakh square feet, is located in Lokhra, the transport hub of Guwahati. "Ashok Leyland also has 10 upcoming outlets in Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Tripura to cater to the rising demand in North-East India", a company statement said.

On the delivery of 33 fully built 4,825 multi-axle 16 wheeler AVTR trucks to Dalmia Cements, the company said it serves as a strong testimonial for Ashok Leyland's products and the trust its customers have in its performance in the HUB North-East India.

The Ashok Leyland AVTR range is a first of its kind in the Indian market and provides multiple options for axle configurations, loading spans, cabins, suspensions, and drivetrains on a single platform for the entire range of Rigid Trucks, Tippers, and Tractors in the 18.5 tonnes to 55-tonne category.

Ashok Leyland said it covers the major commercial hubs in the North East through nine 3S touchpoints, 13 service workshops, and six Workshops on Wheels for site service support to customers. An exclusive warehouse has also been set up in Guwahati to address the vehicle demand in the region 'smoothly.

"Ashok Leyland aims to play a critical role in terms of logistics and mobility. solutions in this region and we are increasing our presence through expansion of our network and back-end infrastructure to cater t the same", the company's Medium, Heavy Commercial Vehicle (President) Sanjay Saraswat said.

"We are also very glad to see our customer base increase in this market. Our vision is to be part of the Top 10 CV makers in the world and these initiatives are some of the key milestones towards the same", he said.

Ashok Leyland MHCV (Sales) Head, Sanjeev Kumar said, "with our newly launched sales, service and spares dealership in Guwahati, we aim to provide holistic service to our customers here in North-East from sales to after-sales service.

"Through our Service Mandi, a digital platform, we have already assisted 250 customers with site services, and with this dealership, we aim to scale up our operations and accessibility of our brand to all the potential customers", he
said.