Shares of Hinduja Group’s flagship brand Ashok Leyland rose 5% in Thursday’s trade to their highest level since May 2018. The company has announced that it has secured an order for 1,400 school buses from major UAE fleets, the company’s largest-ever order for school supply buses in the country.

Ashok Leyland, Chennai-based UAE distribution partner Swaidan Trading – Al Naboodah Group has completed a fleet deal worth AED 276 million ($75.15 million) for GCC-built buses. The stock was trading 4.16% higher at Rs 160.4 on the BSE at 10.15 am.

A statement from the company said the bulk of the supply would go to Emirates Transport and STS Group. The world’s fourth-largest bus maker also said the 55-seater Falcon and 32-seater Oyster would be supplied by Ashok Leyland’s $50 million state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, the only one in the entire Gulf region. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region is a certified local bus manufacturing facility.

Dheeraj Hinduja, executive chairman of Ashok Leyland, said this is a historic moment for Ashok Leyland in the UAE. “This is a testament to the reliability, durability and sturdiness of our buses and reaffirms our customers’ confidence that our buses are the safest to transport students,” he said.

These products are produced in the UAE assembly plant. Product concept originates from UAE, design is done by our engineers in UAE and assembled in UAE factory, over 55% of parts come from UAE. Hinduja said it could easily refer to it as GCC’s Emirati-made UAE bus.

The Ras Al Khaimah plant is a joint venture between Ashok Leyland and the UAE’s Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (RAKIA) and has an annual installed capacity of 4,000 buses. Since construction started in 2008, Ashok Leyland has rolled out 25,500 buses from the plant and exported buses to African countries.

Our new UK-based EV company, Switch Mobility, will help us realise our aspirations for zero-carbon mobility. Hinduja added that through Switch’s expansion in the UAE and GCC, we see significant growth opportunities and look forward to launching our electric vehicles in these markets soon.

Amandeep Singh, Head of International Operations, said Ashok Leyland is one of the fastest-growing brands in the Middle East, with a growing market presence in the UAE. Our lowest total cost of ownership and strong aftermarket support set us apart and helped us win these orders.

With the support of customers, the company has expanded its product portfolio with the launch of the light commercial vehicle partner truck and Gazl bus.