To compete with local and foreign heavy vehicle rivals, Ashok Leyland, India's second giant heavy vehicle manufacturer announced that it is working on developing an all-new full range truck platform for global markets.

The proposed new truck platform named Unitruck, will not only meet all safety and emission norms for developed markets, but it will also create variants to meet different geographies, road and load conditions, different applications and legislative requirement.

Apart from this, the company is also putting efforts to introduce new engine series, ‘Neptune’ by 2013-14, which will replace its old version in upcoming truck models.

The new truck platform, which would be introduced by 2010, will offer fully-built, ready-to-use trucks in the range of 16 tonnes to 49 tonnes.

Commenting on the plans, Mr. R Seshasayee, managing director of Ashok Leyland, said, “The new platform will also answer evolving needs of the domestic market as they gallop towards international benchmarks, thanks to the rapid infrastructural development.”

Stock of Ashok Leyland closed at Rs 28, down 1.57 per cent on National Stock Exchange ( NSE). The total volume of shares traded at NSE was 2,179, 907.