Hinduja Flagship Kicks Off China Tie-Up With Battery-Making Goal

Ashok Leyland Ltd., flagship of the conglomerate led by the billionaire Hinduja family , is banking on China's third-largest battery maker CALB Group Co. to help in its ambition of gradually mastering the technology behind lithium-ion cells.

India's second-biggest maker of trucks and buses, which signed a 20-year agreement with CALB earlier this month, will start with importing cells from its Chinese partner and learn the process of assembling them into packs, Ashok Leyland's Chief Executive Officer Shenu Agarwal said in an interview. The automaker will gradually seek the capability to design and manufacture lithium-ion batteries domestically, he added.