Mumbai, Dec 27 (IANS): Bollywood star Akshay Kumar has been appointed brand ambassador for automobile major Tata Motors' commercial vehicle business unit.

The 49-year-old star will take on his new role at the launch of Tata Motors' latest offering in commercial vehicles, slated in January 2017.

"No one understands Indian trucking better than Tatas and there couldn't have been a better and more apt brand to promote. It was fun being in the driver's seat of one of those monster machines, during a product shoot," Akshay said in a statement.

The brand association with Akshay for commercial vehicles will be supported by a multi-media campaign, beginning in the first week of January. Besides products and solutions, he will be actively involved in a host of marketing and customer experience initiatives to be rolled out by the company.

"Akshay embodies dynamism, popularity, machismo, performance and style. More importantly, he blends well with the core values of trust, reliability, responsibility and good leadership of Tata Motors' Commercial vehicles business," said Ravindra Pisharody, Executive Director, Commercial Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors.

Talking of their customers, Pisharody said: "Today we are catering to an audience that defines the driven, ambitious, forward-moving, non-stop pulse of India and Akshay understands the pulse of this audience well."

The "Rustom" star also announced about his association with the brand, on Twitter.

"Trust, reliability and forward-moving are synonymous with Tata Motors. Honoured to be associated with a brand most of us have grown up with," he tweeted.