Over the last decade, the Indian commercial vehicle industry has attracted growing attention from leading players in the field. With action hotting up in the Indian CV market, which has become one of the top priorities for global majors, no one can predict who will be ahead by the end of the current decade, though we can derive some pointers from recent performances from leading players and developments on related fronts.
Tata Motors has been the face of the Indian CV segment for decades and continues to do so. The Indian outfit has grown into a global truck and bus major with operations in different parts of the world. Back in India, Tata Motors is fully geared up to take on competition, be it local rivals or global challengers. Going by what Tata has done in India, it would be no easy task for anyone to overcome the market leader’s dominance for years. Be it new products, like the Prima LX range or the Ultra ICV, globally-competitive technology or reliable aftersales capabilities, Tata Motors has it all in its portfolio and is poised to stay on top for long.
Talk about trucks and buses in India, and Ashok Leyland (AL) is another household name as well. Battling stiff competition from different all corners, AL has tightened the screws in the last few years, indicating to its fellow players that it is ready to take them head on. The company has introduced some impressive new vehicle platforms including the Captain and BOSS and expects to get closer to the top with the new launches.
Next up is VECV – the joint venture between Volvo and Eicher. Both brands have their own set of credentials and have blended excellently in the Indian market. With its latest offering – the Pro series – VECV is certainly equipped to give competition a tough fight till the finish.
And then we have AMW, Mahindra, BharatBenz, SML Isuzu and MAN operating in and around the so-called mass market space with global entrants like Hino and Kamaz playing in niche segments.
AMW, having started off with the mining segment, has emerged a full range player. Mahindra comes with its unique and unparalleled brand value and has caught the imagination of many a customer in the market. Both players are capable of grabbing a good share of the market in the long run if they weather the storm until the market picks up.
BharatBenz, Daimler’s Indian trucking brand under Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, has been a game-changer in the last couple of years. It came with a promise of changing the trucking dynamics in the country and has done just that. It would be interesting to see how much BharatBenz could achieve by the turn of the decade. SML Isuzu, the joint venture between Indian firm Swaraj Mazda and Japanese powerhouse Isuzu is another interesting partnership capable of coming out on top in the segments it operates in.
MAN Trucks India, the Indian wing of European heavyweight MAN SE (formerly MAN AG), has a very good product offering in the country. Having entered India through a tie-up with Force Motors, MAN decided to go solo couple of years back by taking over the JV. The company is working on new developments which are likely to put it back into the battle very soon. Hino, part of the Toyota Group and Kamaz, Russian market leader, are both reworking their strategies for India and are expected to come back strong in the near future.
In the premium segment, it is a three-way battle between Volvo, Mercedes and Scania. All three players battle it out in different parts of the world and it would be intriguing to see who emerges on top in the long run in India.
When we talk about heavy vehicles, we shouldn’t forget the application builders who manufacture the trailers, tippers, tankers, bulkers, etc. India’s competency in this field is growing fast with some highly competitive system-driven players operating in the field. Tata-DLT, Tranztar, Transport Solutions India, Hyva, Kailash Vahan, Satrac, Tippers & Trailers, Black Diamond Motors, Seamless Autotech are some of the biggest names in the sector. While there are others too, one can be rest assured that many more will come.
In pick-ups, Mahindra has been a dominant force for years, but Tata Motors has its own array of interesting products as well, good enough to challenge anyone. Isuzu has also forayed into the pick-up segment and considering its global expertise, the Japanese will give a tough fight to fellow pick-up makers in India.
Rounding-off with the three-wheeler segment where Bajaj, Piaggio, Atul Auto and Force Motors are the major names. Though the three-wheelers are slowly but surely being replaced by small commercial vehicles, the existing players have their own interesting market share battles, coming up with interesting new products, variants and technology to outpace the others.
In this CV handbook section, we have put together a brief profile of some of the leading names in the Indian CV industry. Read on for more.
