Saturation of global markets is luring Chinese and Japanese truck makers to foray into the Indian commercial vehicle segment .jpg) The Indian commercial vehicle segment, particularly the truck market is set to witness an intense competition in the coming months with the entry of Chinese and Japanese companies such as Foton, Hino Motors, Isuzu etc in the Indian auto market. In this context, Sugato Sen, senior director at the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), while speaking to a Machinist360 correspondent, said, “The major reason for these companies to look towards India is because other international markets have saturated to a great extent. However, the coming of Chinese and Japanese firms definitely augurs well for the domestic auto sector as it will encourage the launch of innovative products.” Notably, the biggest foreign investment in the Indian truck segment has come from the German auto maker Daimler, which is looking to invest US$969 million over the next 5 years on its truck manufacturing facility in South India and also plans to start production from mid-2012. On the other hand, Hino Motors is also planning to set up its own manufacturing unit in the country.
Increase in freight movement to drive demand
“A booming Indian economy is set to spur freight movement particularly the movement of heavy materials such as steel, cement etc in the coming months, which will in turn boost the demand for high quality trucks. Therefore, trucks manufactured by the foreign firms will help to meet this demand. However, pricing would still remain a critical factor in determining the success of the new overseas players,” comments Vijay Ghadge, managing director of Vijay Engineering, a mid-sized manufacturer of gear boxes in Satara, Maharashtra.
As of now, the Indian truck market is dominated by players such as Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Volvo etc, but it seems that the new entrants in the segment will give these established players a run for their money. As per SIAM’s data, domestic sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicles registered a growth of 74.19% during the April-July period this year.
Arup Choudhury |
