Ashok Leyland, the Hinduja Group flagship, has sold Defiance Testing & Engineering Services (DTE) to Exova, one of the world’s leading providers of testing, calibration and advisory services.
Defiance Testing and Engineering, located near Detroit, USA, had been acquired by Ashok Leyland in 2007. DTE provides testing and engineering services to manufacturers and leading suppliers in the passenger car, light truck, bus and military vehicle sectors. Its range of capabilities also includes component and system testing, fatigue and durability validation, system simulation, and full vehicle structural testing.
Since its acquisition, DTE has not only weathered the downturn of 2008-2009 with a smart recovery, it has also seen consistent and profitable growth since through a combination of operational efficiency, new customer capture, and focus on adjacent sectors such as construction and off-highway and Defence. Significantly, as a matter of strategic fit, DTE helped Ashok Leyland imbibe several new skills in testing and validation and thereby reduce the new product development time and costs.
