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MOTORINDIA
l
September 2012
Ready for the future
The year 2012 was a challenging
and interesting one for the Indian
commercial vehicle segment. The
most turbulent at that, the year posed
bigger challenges with its adverse
impact on production as well as sales
in most categories. Still the CV seg-
ment, with its immense growth po-
tential, continued to consolidate its
presence in the market by attracting
more global vehicle manufacturers.
The multinationals in operation
in India made their presence felt
by sending across clear indications
of what one could expect from the
market. Daimler is one such with
its peerless approach towards what
is considered one of the most com-
petitive and dynamic markets in the
world. MAN, now with complete
management control over the Indian
business, is another global name
ready to start afresh in the Indian
market. Volvo has almost become a
synonym of ‘luxury’ in the bus seg-
ment, while its Swedish neighbour
Scania has begun construction of its
plant which would make it Volvo’s
neighbour in India too. And Foton,
the Chinese giant, has entered the
fray with its plant in Pune.
Having anticipated a potential for-
ay by multinationals, the prominent
domestic players like Tata Motors
and Ashok Leyland are aggressively
expanding their product portfolio
and upgrading technologies, making
it an intense battle for market share.
AMW is another Indian company to
watch out for, following its strong
showing in the mining and construc-
tion segment, while Kamaz Vectra,
the Indian face of the Russian mar-
ket leader Kamaz, is also doing quite
well in the segment.
SML Isuzu, buoyed by Japanese
technology, is also in the running.
In addition, there are two powerful
joint ventures in the reckoning –
Volvo-Eicher Commercial Vehicles
(VECV), a strong partnership with
big expansion plans in offing, and
Mahindra-Navistar, which recent-
ly sold its 5,000
th
truck, attracting
greater public attention.
Competition in the Indian
commercial vehicle segment
is hotting up, with several
players in the field expanding
their individual operations.
Tata and Ashok Leyland,
the Indian market leaders for
long, are keen on maintaining
their share somehow. How the
two modify their strategies to
suit the changing scenario will
be watched with both interest
and anxiety.
w
vehicle zone (cover story)
Indian CV manufacturers gear up
for fiercer competition
By R. Natarajan, Managing Editor & Publisher