Ashok Leyland announced receiving orders from major fleets for 1,400 school buses in the UAE. This is the company’s largest ever supply of school buses in UAE.
The 55-seater Falcon bus and 32-seater Oyster bus will be supplied from Ashok Leyland’s $50 million state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, which is the only certified local bus making facility in the entire GCC.
The total fleet deal for the GCC made buses has been bagged by Ashok Leyland’s UAE distribution partners, Swaidan Trading – Al Naboodah Group. Most of the supplies will be made to Emirates Transport and STS Group, a statement from the company said.
“These products are made in the UAE assembly plant. The product concepts originate in the UAE, the designs are done by our engineers in UAE and are assembled in the factory in UAE, with more than 55% of parts sourced in UAE. It will be apt to call it ‘The Emirati Bus’ – Made in UAE, for the GCC,” said Dheeraj Hinduja, Executive Chairman at Ashok Leyland.
The Ras Al Khaimah plant is a joint venture between Ashok Leyland and the Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (RAKIA), UAE, and has an installed capacity of 4,000 buses a year. Ever since its start in 2008, Ashok Leyland has rolled out 25,500 buses from the plant so far. Over the years, the plant has generated abundant economic and social value.
More than 7000 establishments in GCC own an Ashok Leyland product, transporting 1.8m passengers every day. Building on the patronage of its customers, the company has expanded the portfolio and launched light commercial vehicles ‘Partner Truck’ and ‘Gazl Buses’. The UAE plant also exports buses to African countries.