The announcement was made after market hours, yesterday, 15 July 2019.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was up by 83.24 points or 0.21% to 39,979.29.

On the BSE, 5.06 lakh shares were traded in the counter so far compared with average daily volumes of 8.38 lakh shares in the past two weeks. The stock had hit a high of Rs 84.4 and a low of Rs 82.1 so far during the day. It hit a 52-week high of Rs 135.1 on 3 September 2018 and a 52-week low of Rs 77.5 on 18 February 2019.

Ashok Leyland will shut its Pantnagar plant in Uttarakhand from 16 July to 24 July 2019 (both days inclusive), owning to weak demand and outlook for the industry.

Pantnagar plant is an integrated axle machining and assembly facility. Previously, the plant was closed intermittently between 24 and 29 June, as part of the company's strategy to align with the production and sales requirements.

The decision to stop production comes at a time when commercial vehicle industry is facing a massive slowdown.

The company's total sales declined 19% to 12,810 units in June 2019 over June 2018. Total domestic sales fell 14% to 12,085 units in June 2019 over June 2018.

Ashok Leyland's net profit declined 11.2% to Rs 662.47 crore on a 0.8% rise in net sales to Rs 8722.59 crore in Q4 March 2019 over Q4 March 2018.

Ashok Leyland is the 2nd largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles in India.