Ashok Leyland sells investment in Czech auto maker for 11 million

Ashok Leyland is India's second largest company in the commercial vehicles field. It had an investment in the Czech aircraft and automobile company, Avia. Together, the two brands had collaborated to form Avia Ashok Leyland Motors SRO, which had seen good sales in countries such as Spain and UK.

However, Ashok Leyland had recently sold its shareholding in Avia, thereby pulling out of this collaborated venture. The shares were sold for a sum of 11 million dollars to an unnamed investor. This move has comes as a result of the company's re-mapping of its investment in subsidiaries.

Avia was started in 1919, and was acquired by Skoda in 1928. In its initial stages, the company focussed on aircraft production, and in time, became the largest in the nation. During the second world war, the brand made aircrafts for the German Nazi army. Following the end of the war, it was nationalised and it became involved in the automotive industry. In 1992, the company was split into a propeller and a truck section. In 2006, the truck section of the brand was acquired by Ashok Leyland. Since then, AVIA Ashok Leyland Motors has operated as a producer of vehicles and machinery for the Czech Republic.

Ashok Leyland is the 16th largest manufacturer of trucks worldwide, with a market arena that spreads across numerous countries abroad. Besides commercial vehicles, it is a known producer of engines and industrial applicants as well. It operates with a total employee strength of 15 000 trained staff, and generates close to 2 billion US dollars in annual revenue.