View source for Royal Enfield

==From bikes to trucks==
Lal turned his attention to trucks in 2006 after turning around Royal Enfield. The group pushed hard for a breakthrough in the truck business. The ambition wasn't to be a good No. 3, but challenge No. 1. "We figured that we had the brand, but didn't have financial muscle, technology and the distribution. It was an uphill task." He struck an alliance with Volvo, which also brought in equity.

"As Eicher plus Volvo, we can do much more than what Eicher could do alone," he says. "I would rather have half of a much larger pie." Eicher and Volvo hold 54.4% and 45.6% respectively in the joint venture VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV). This alliance too has led to shareholder value creation.

"VECV too managed to create a world class portfolio in medium and heavy trucks through the pro-series range. This will contribute to the overall growth in the next few years," says Mishra of JM Financial Institutional Securities. Market experts also believe that Volvo will have to pay a substantial premium if it wants control of the business, resulting in windfall gains for shareholders of Eicher Motors. "This is reflected in the stock price of Eicher Motors," one analyst says.

Lal says share price is an animal he does not understand. "What could be a flavour of the day, may not be tomorrow. We need to do well and maintain fundamentals," he says. Shareholders won't complain. As long as Lal takes care of the bikes, share prices will take care of themselves.