The India tipper and HD truck market is thriving with commodity demand cycle improvement and the bounce back of economy.
Jalaj Gupta Business Head Commercial Vehicles, Mahindra & Mahindra What are the market dynamics (demand-supply) for Heavy Duty (HD) trucks and tippers in the Construction Equipment (CE) space? The India tipper and
– Jalaj Gupta
Business Head – Commercial Vehicles, Mahindra & Mahindra
What are the market dynamics (demand-supply) for Heavy Duty (HD) trucks and tippers in the Construction Equipment (CE) space?
The India tipper and HD truck market is thriving on the back of increasing opportunities generated by the rising coal and mineral mining in the country due to commodity demand cycle improvement and the bounce back of economy after the downfall due to Covid-19 pandemic. There was hangover on demand due to change in Bharat Stage (BS) Norms, from Apr’20 India became BS6 compliant country.
In FY’21 total Heavy Commercial Vehicle industry volume stood around 87,000 Units and it de-grew by 21% wrt FY’20. However, tipper industry volume grew by 1% to touch around 40,000 units. Tipper industry has shown resilience and we expect this to remain it that way since in budget for FY’22 GoI has planned aggressive expenditure on Infrastructure development with capital allocation to around INR 1 Lakh Cr to MoRTH. Apart from this, there are several projects expected with Public Private Partnership mode. Government is also expecting that this will start major corporates CAPEX cycle, and this will be one of growth drivers for Tipper industry.
What are the technological trends in the trucks and tipper segment both for surface transportation of aggregates, road construction, infrastructure projects, port transportation as well as for working in quarries?
We at MTB, offer the following features in BLAZO X HCV Tippers and HD trucks :-
- 7.2L – mPower 6 Cylinder BS6 ready with multimode facility.
- 6 separate cylinder heads and wet liners leading to easy repairability and lower maintenance cost.
- 1050 Nm High torque for optimal performance under various terrain and load conditions
- More durable heavyduty Eaton gearbox with increased input torque capacity.
- Meritor/American higher grade/series of axles used in BS6 leading to better durability/life.
- High strength Steel Metal –chassis frame with reinforcement for carrying extra load
- High- density Polyethylene (HDPE) 260L fuel tank incorporated for better durability & rust free.
- Heavy duty inverted bogie suspension for carrying extra load.
The new emission norms have come into effect, impacting transportation businesses in myriad ways. How has your company responded to this in terms of engine design, newer components to new fluids and additives?
With the new emission norms come into effect, we at MTB, have made the following changes –
- Significant engine technology changes including improvements in engine combustion and calibration, increased injection and cylinder pressures, NOx and PM after-treatment solutions and transitioning to electronic controls has resulted in increased vehicle cost and has impacted the end customer price.
- BS6 regulatory requirements need significant validation and ATS functioning is greatly impacted by duty cycle. Special applications for which BS4 variants were applicable are now being revisited w.r.t BS6 variants for ATS functionality in slow duty cycles, Fire tender, etc.
- Overall vehicle prices have significantly increased w.r.t BS4 prices.
- Remaining vehicle variant availability apart from the lead models as BS6 validation takes significant amount time for end to end trials.
What kinds of after-sales support initiatives have been embraced by you to maintain customer satisfaction and brand value?
We have always been at the forefront of Aftermarket initiatives to differentiate out offering and provide unparallel services. To name few unique initiatives:
- iMAXX fitment on all vehicles for health monitoring and real time alerts
- Parts Plaza- Guarantees on Major Parts availability
- Guarantees on Turnaround at Authorized Mahindra Workshops
- Fast and Prompt Services on National Highways
What do you think are the challenges, risk factors and possible new avenues in the HD truck and tipper’s segment?
As the CV industry is directly linked with the economy, the unexpected fall in GDP growth to -23.9% indicates that a full-fledged recovery in M&HCV sales is unlikely in the short-run.
In general, the downcycle of M&HCV stretches for nine to ten quarters. With the coinciding of the COVID-19 outbreak and the disrupted supply chains, experts reckon that the downcycle phase might expand to 12-18 quarters this time.
At present, the recovery is predicted on an expected pick-up in construction activities, fleet utilisation and private consumption.
The industry is expecting to see some offtake in volumes in the post monsoon period led by the release of government contracts and catching up of mining and construction activities.
Covid-19 management in crucial since 2nd wave has put brakes on revival of industry and it will certainly impact road to recovery of economy.
The major drivers of the industry going forward will be are as follows –
- Coal Mining
- Road Construction
- Real estate
- Irrigation projects
- Power projects
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