“The trend towards modern, fuel-efficient tippers with higher uptime will continue, as in case of further progress in terms of safety and comfort features”. Mr. Rajaram Krishnamurthy, Vice President (Marketing and Sales), Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), elucidates the perspective of BharatBenz on tipper trucks segment in the domestic market and future prospects for the marque in this space.
Excerpts:
How is BharatBenz adapting to the evolving needs of construction and mining tipper market in India?
At BharatBenz, we offer a wide range of tipper variants based on proven, global platforms. They are designed to deliver superior performance in the most challenging conditions, all built with strong aggregates and reliable sub-system. Each product is taken through rigorous testing for millions of kilometres on all terrains. They also come with best-in-class Total Cost of Ownership with better fuel efficiency and lower maintenance costs.
How strong are tipper sales in the domestic market? What are your growth predictions and scope for exports?
With the current strong rebound of the Indian CV market, there is strong demand for more equipment and specifically tipper trucks, which is fuelled by government infrastructure spending as well as private construction activities. Tippers have traditionally been a strong segment for our brand.
We expect to strong growth of exports from India, as tippers account for a significant portion of our vehicle exports at DICV, which amount to more than 15,000 units since 2013 already.
How are the BS-IV and the upcoming BS-VI norms transforming the segment?
The transition to BS-IV was a real game-changer, which has provided us at BharatBenz with a lot of additional momentum. We will also benefit from further regulatory updates as we already meet additional safety norms, according to global standards. BS-VI certainly has the potential to become the next big game-changer in our Industry. We will be ready ahead of time once again – in fact, we’re already testing BS-VI vehicles on the roads.
What sort of innovation is fast catching up the tipper segment in India?
The trend towards modern, fuel-efficient trucks with higher uptime will continue, just like for further upgrades in terms of safety and comfort features. We have a lot of ideas in the pipeline which we will showcase in due course, as per customer demands and preferences in the segment.
How are mining trucks embracing digital technologies and big data, especially telematics and fleet management? What do buyers expect in this regard?
There are many benefits for operators that are equipped with connected technologies. With vehicle integration, continuously generated data can be used for multiple purposes, may it be predictive maintenance, improving fuel-efficient driver behaviour, or new ways to determine the best vehicle configuration for a given scenario based on analysis of real-life data from similar scenarios.
DICV has full access to the solutions developed by Daimler Trucks and Buses offered in global markets. Right now, we are working out what package makes most sense for the domestic market. Our customers can rely on us to deliver a mature solution that supports their business in a substantial manner. Expect further announcements from BharatBenz not too far in the future.
How do you create brand awareness and reach out to the customers in the mining segment?
We have very personal relations to customers in this segment, which is reflected in our dedicated aftersales outfits that we maintain upon demand at the customer’s site for real-time support and service.