Ashok Leyland share surges on pact with Phinergy

The company's stock moved from Rs 85.80 on January 17, 2017, to now hovering around Rs 123

Ashok Leyland said this will benefit not only the company but also the Indian customers. Image source: Reuters

Share price of commercial vehicles major Ashok Leyland rose over 1% after the company announced today that it has signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with Phinergy of Israel to secure long-term arrangements for its electric vehicle (EV) plans.

The company's stock moved from Rs 85.80 on January 17, 2017, to now hovering around Rs 123, after opening flat. The stock has seen 52-week high of Rs 133 and low of Rs 81.

"With the intention of providing varying Energy Management solutions to the customers, Ashok Leyland and Phinergy will work towards the adaptation of unique, competitive and sustainable solutions for high-energy applications in the commercial vehicles space," Ashok Leyland said in a statement.

Phinergy has developed cutting edge technology solutions for the use of Aluminium Air Batteries for electric vehicles and other applications, the company said.

With Ashok Leyland, Phinergy will be tailoring its unique technology to meet the demanding high-energy requirements of commercial vehicles in the Indian market.

"Over the next few months, we will develop the first few prototypes and trial pilots on different platforms in order to better tune Phinergy's offering for various CV (commercial vehicles) applications. Our approach to electric vehicle commercial vehicles will continue to be such that we move people and goods rather than batteries, with optimal use of battery capacities," said S A Sundaresan, head of eMobility Tech, Ashok Leyland.

"As the EV market evolves in India, Ashok Leyland, remains committed to developing differentiated solutions for our customers to help them stay competitive. We see good potential for Phinergy's technology in India. This will add further to our various portfolios for Commercial Vehicle EVs, where we are committed to offering our customers competitive solutions with various options that use cutting edge technology," said Karthick Athmanathan, head of EV and eMobility Solutions, Ashok Leyland.

Over the next few months, Ashok Leyland will develop a few prototypes and trial pilots on different platforms in order to fine-tune Phinergy's offering for various CV applications.

Phinergy has also been able to work out the cost effectiveness of this technology. The company said this will benefit not only Ashok Leyland but also the Indian customers.