Leading commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland has said its domestic sales surged by 26.3 per cent in June 2003 due to strong demand for medium duty goods vehicles.

The Hinduja Group flagship sold 3,555 units during the month against 2,813 units a year earlier.

Exports also grew by 27.9 per cent to 220 units, a company release said.

Ashok Leyland's total vehicle sales in June jumped by 26.46 per cent to 3,775 units.

The June 2003 sales were higher by 28.14 per cent as compared to 2,946 units sold in May this year.

For the first quarter this fiscal, domestic sales went up by 8.7 per cent to 7,859 vehicles, the highest ever for the company.

Exports also grew by 7.9 per cent to 488 units during the April-June quarter.

Total sales during the quarter increased by 8.6 per cent to 8,347 units.

During June, domestic sale of medium duty goods vehicles jumped by 51.6 per cent to 2,542 units but that of medium duty passenger vehicles fell 13.7 per cent to 979 units.

Ashok Leyland said it has bagged major orders from state transport undertakings recently and was, therefore, ramping up its production capacity.