Our foremost commitment to customers lies in delivering best-in-class fuel efficiency.

Jalaj Gupta
Business Head, Commercial Vehicles Business Unit, Mahindra & Mahindra

Can you describe the current state of market the construction equipment manufacturing industry?

This year brings good news for us across the board. We will focus on our primary segments: earthmoving and the road master category. In the earthmoving sector, specifically the backhoe industry, we anticipate a 15 to 20% growth in F24 compared to F23. As for the grader industry, relating to road construction equipment, we expect a growth of about 20-25%. This positive trend is fueled not only by the booming economy and the government’s focus on infrastructure projects but also by some customers making pre-purchases ahead of the CEV5 norms implementation.

The industry is performing well, yet it hasn’t reached the heights of F19, our last peak. In F19, approximately 47,000 backhoes and over 1,000 graders were sold in the country. We predict reaching that peak again by F27, considering the expected impact of the CEV5 implementation. When these norms come into effect, whether it’s in April or September, we anticipate a cooling down of the domestic Total Industry Volume (TIV). This downturn typically occurs as prices increase for customers, akin to what was observed during the transition from BS3 to BS4.

What is your focus Excon this year? What are the products that you have launched here?

We are proud to present 9-10 displays here, each showcasing significant advancements. Among these, the migration from BS4 to BS5 stands as a monumental leap in demonstrating our preparedness. This transition embodies our commitment to pioneering in-house engine development, research, and manufacturing—a testament to our Indian company’s ethos. We aim to exhibit to our customers and the entire ecosystem our continuous pursuit of staying ahead of the curve. Our readiness for the BS5 range is not just a promise but a tangible reality, well in time for display.

Furthermore, our continuous improvements are fueled by valuable customer feedback. For instance, in our BS5 machine, we unveil an all-new, more spacious and comfortable cabin—addressing customer requests for enhanced comfort. The revamped metallic front design is another outcome of these enhancements, complementing a plethora of other improvements integrated with the BS5 upgrade.

Moving to our second highlight—the tipper segment. From ports to roads, airports to housing, our tippers have become indispensable for various infrastructural endeavors. Formerly accounting for 15% of the heavy vehicle segment, they now command an impressive 30%. Our showcased product, the MDura tipper, symbolizes our concerted efforts to fortify our position in this segment.

The third focal point of our display is our versatile tractor platform, notably embraced in South Africa and Africa, primarily in sugarcane applications. We introduce a groundbreaking concept—an adept and adaptable compact crane mounted on this platform. Traditionally, cranes find their place on trucks, limiting their off-road capabilities. Our innovation breaks this norm, offering a versatile solution for diverse applications.

These are just a glimpse of the numerous products we proudly exhibit, each a testament to our commitment to innovation and customer-centric evolution.

How do you differentiate yourself with your competitors?

We strongly believe in three key value propositions that set us apart. Firstly, fuel efficiency stands as a cornerstone. Presently, nearly half of an operator’s expenses relate to fuel costs, and while alternative fuels are on the horizon, diesel remains indispensable for the coming years, if not a decade. Hence, our foremost commitment to customers lies in delivering best-in-class fuel efficiency. In the realm of truck and bus businesses, we’ve gone a step further by guaranteeing customers superior mileage compared to competing trucks for the same load and road conditions. If a competitor’s truck outperforms ours, we retrieve our truck—a testament to our fuel efficiency commitment, a clear differentiation from the competition.

Secondly, our after-sales support is unparalleled. As a challenger brand in both the truck and bus segments, establishing a network comparable to our competitors poses an ongoing challenge. It’s not solely about expanding reach but also ensuring the viability of our dealership channels. We address this challenge by offering a service guarantee. This guarantee entails swift vehicle servicing: bringing your vehicle to our workshop ensures its return within 36 hours, or else, we offer a recourse. Similarly, if your vehicle faces issues on the highway, we commit to restoring it promptly. Achieving this hinge on fine-tuning our backend operations—a critical aspect setting us apart.

Lastly, and most significantly, is our pioneering use of Imax technology. Imax, our telematics solution, is a standard inclusion with every truck, bus, and construction equipment sold in India. This technology comes factory-fitted as a standard feature, offering more than just vital product information and location tracking.

Elections are going to be announced in 2024. How do you think the market will respond?

We anticipate that the upcoming situation will significantly affect our cash flow, manifesting in two key ways. Firstly, it may impact the cash flows for our end customers, mirroring what we observed in November. During that month, we noticed a substantial downturn in commercial vehicle activity in four critical states—Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan—all of which are pivotal hubs for commercial endeavors in the country. November stood out as one of the worst months for commercial vehicles in recent times. Looking ahead to the next year, our concern doesn’t revolve around the quantum of infrastructure project outlays, as the current outlay should suffice for the next 2-3 years. However, there’s a possibility that the entire machinery and collective focus of everyone may rightly shift towards the elections, considering their immense significance. This shift could temporarily slow down overall cash flow and activity, directly impacting purchases and sales. This slowdown is expected to be a transient phase lasting 1-2 months.

We’re optimistic that our performance in the final quarter of this year will remain steady, considering the elections are projected to take place around April or May.

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