MOVING The EARTH

Investment of foreign direct investment in the country, rising government spending in infrastructure and construction projects are some of the key growth drivers of the Indian Excavator market. Equipment Times delves into outlook, technology evolving in excavators in terms of: productivity, fuel efficiency, and operational efficiency, added features, dealership network and distribution channel, pre-and aftermarket sales support services for excavators.

Increasing demand for crawler excavators is attributed to investments by developed countries, favorable government policies and FDIs, shifting focus toward domestic manufacturing and upcoming industrial developments in the mining and construction industries are major drivers in the market.

Big projects such as Sagarmala, Bharatmala Programme for port modernization, Airport up-gradation and development, increasing connectivity and port-linked industrial hubs, AMRUT, Jal Marg Vikas, Diamond Quadrilateral for high-speed railways, river linkages, and bullet trains are set to increase the demand for excavators across India. India’s crawler excavator market by mining is expected to reach 6,598 units by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 5.79%. 102-200 hp gross power excavator accounted for the largest market share of around 42.2%.

India Excavators Market size is expected to grow due to rising urbanization, population, industrialization, and construction sector across India. Investment of foreign direct investment in the country, rising government spending in infrastructure and construction projects are some of the key growth drivers of the India Excavator market. However, the lack of product differentiation and the threat of low-cost Chinese products are the major restraint factors behind the slow growth of excavators in India. The incursion of novel coronavirus would impact the growth of the construction and transportation sector in India which may act as a hurdle in the growth of the India Excavator market over the coming years.

According to 6Wresearch, India Excavators Market size is likely to witness growth during 2020-2026. Growing private and public infrastructure projects, increasing economic development activities as well as increasing government focus on certain key projects such as Golden Corridor, Housing for all, Smart City, an extension of metros, rail and road network across the country are some of the major factors which would drive the demand for construction equipment in India over the upcoming years.

The crawler excavator dominates the overall India Excavator market due to its higher capacity to carry loads and is suitable for application in muddy conditions. Expanding infrastructure and developing natural resources is expected to drive the growth of the rising construction industry in India.

Demand growth…

Urbanization and rapidly growing investments in the infrastructure sector and other government strategic initiatives will further push the construction sector, creating growth opportunities in the market.

According to Globe News Wire, the Indian crawler excavator market is witnessing rapid growth in demand for medium crawler excavators. The government is focusing on green building projects to promote demand for fuel-efficient, lesser emission crawler excavators. Increasing government initiatives such as increasing the steel production capacity to 300 Mt by 2030 indicates future demand for large excavators used in mining.

Exploration activities are doubled by implementing about 400 mineral exploration projects on various mineral commodities and will witness high demand in the crawler excavators across India. Due to the increased procurement and maintenance cost of excavators, rentals are preferred by the contractors; thus, the rental market in the future will rise eventually in the India crawler excavator market.

Product differentiation….

Manufacturers are making operational advances in their excavator motors, hydraulic systems, structures, tracks, and cab construction to improve their telematics fuel efficiency and competitiveness. With several global players, the need for product differentiation has led to the up-gradation of technology such as remote access, autonomous machines etc. Integration of IoT is expected to be the next big thing in the India crawler excavator market.

Market leaders speak…

Dimitrov Krishnan, Managing Director, Volvo CE India, said, “Since earthmoving segment is the largest in Indian construction industry, demand for excavators easily outstrips every other construction equipment. The Indian excavator market is poised to register robust CAGR numbers in the foreseeable future, thanks to sustained public investment in infrastructure planned over next 25 years and Government’s unrelenting focus on ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’. As the country gears up for an overhaul of mass transportation and logistics infrastructure across surfaces, it will usher in unprecedented demand for earthmoving equipments across segments – from mining and road building to urban development and mega projects. Volvo CE offers excavators to meet every need and any challenge. That said, Volvo CE plans to launch a new series of gen-next excavators in India in the coming years, powered by sustainable technologies. Also on the anvil are 100% electric compact excavators promising zero emissions, 10 times lower noise levels and reduced cost of ownership.”

Mukul Dixit, Director of Sales & Marketing (Global Construction and Infrastructure), Caterpillar India, said, “The construction of roads and infrastructure is expected to increase rapidly in India. This is driving the demand for the excavator market along with government’s ambitious plan to spend heavily in infrastructure development, including railroads, roads and highways, rural electrification, water supply and irrigation.  The rebound process, post the pandemic, started earlier this year, hence we see that the demand for the construction equipment will continue to increase in 2023. The high pace of road construction that the Indian government has committed to achieve, our customers will require construction equipment that is highly productive, fuel-efficient, provides operator comfort and is easy to maintain. To meet our customer requirements, we continue to work on developing technologically advanced features in our range of excavators to increase fuel-efficiency and productivity. The increase in private and public infrastructure projects, collective economic development activities as well as increasing government focus on key projects such as Bharatmala, Sagarmala, Housing for All, Smart-City, intercity rapid rail / metros, rail and road network across the country are some of the major factors which is driving the demand for construction equipment in India. Growing industrialization across the region and increasing investments for infrastructure development would also boost the excavator market in India.”

V. G. Sakthikumar, Managing Director, Schwing Stetter India, said, “Demand for hydraulic excavators has remained consistently high in the domestic market during the last decade. It grew steadily from 16,488 units in 2016 to peak at 25,474 units in 2018 before dropping to 16,382 units in 2020. The active population of hydraulic excavators is estimated at 162,061 units at the end of 2020. Sales of excavators are expected to reach 22,000 units in 2021 due to the easing of Covid-19 restrictions and an increase in economic activities. Furthermore, against a backdrop of an increase in infrastructure development activities, demand for hydraulic excavators is predicted to grow in the long term and is forecast to reach 32,000 units by 2025. And SCHWING – XCMG has expansive plans to own a larger share of the predicted 32,000-unit market in 2025. The main factor which we believe that makes our excavators to stay ahead in the industry is that SCHWING – XCMG machines have the Widest range/tonnage capacity in the excavator product range which is suitable for any kind of industry wise applications.”

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