Commercial vehicles manufacturer Ashok Leyland is targeting to surpass one lakh production mark by 2008-09 and will be investing Rs 550 crores for the purpose.

The Hinduja group blue-chip company was also looking for a suitable site to set up a manufacturing facility in North India, its Managing Director R Seshasayee told reporters here.

The company would soon would soon launch 49 tonne-high power tractors, 31 tonne-high power tippers, 16 tonne-semi-forward control tippers, 15 tonne-trucks with H series 4 cylinder engines, 12 metre low-floor buses and 12 metre rear-engine luxury coaches, he said.

The company's turnover had crossed Rs 6,000 crores during the last fiscal, he said. The turnover of Rs 6,158 crores was against Rs 4,810 crores of the previous year.

It made a net profit of Rs 330 crores, 20 per cent higher than that of the previous year and had declared a 120 per cent dividend, he said.

The company sold 61,655 vehicles during the last fiscal against 54,740 vehicles in the previous year, he said.

Ashok Leyland was looking for a site in UAE to set up a new bus assembly unit to cater to the Middle East and the plant would have a capacity of assembling 2000 buses, he said