Company looks to outgrow market in FY19
Mahindra Truck and Bus Ltd. (MTBL) is confident of the CV market performing very well in the coming couple of years, with hopes high on the tipper segment for which it is currently rolling out products at full capacity. MTBL made its presence felt at the recently-held EXCON exhibition in Bangalore lining up its range of tippers along with other service solutions at the show.
Talking about MTBL’s participation at EXCON, Mr. Vinod Sahay, CEO, MTBL, said: “We have displayed our 3- and 4-axle tippers and also have a 9 cu.m. concrete mixer solution on our 4-axle tipper chassis. Along with that we have showcased a fuel dispenser on an LCV platform which is a very unique offering from Mahindra based on market requirement.”
Thought tippers are generally overloaded the increasing use of tippers for rated load applications has caught Mahindra’s attention. The company now offers the option of light-duty (LD) tipper bodies built using special high strength steel that would provide additional load-carrying capacity which in turn translates to more profit per trip for the customer.
“We are now providing a LD body for a box type configuration on a tipper chassis. The LD body offers an advantage in terms of light-weighting and hence an additional payload carrying capacity from 16 to 18 cu.m. depending on 3 or 4 axles. Our customers have seen payload increase to the tune of 350 to 550 kg which is quite a significant achievement in the rated load segment”, shared Mr. Sahay.
Mahindra’s new offerings seem to be coming at a time when the country’s tipper market is performing extremely well, with hopes of strong demand to continue for the next two years. The Government’s thrust on infrastructure development, not just on paper but also through effective execution, is providing a much-needed boost for the construction and mining sector.
“Construction activity is expected to grow, especially road construction. In regions like Telangana, irrigation projects are creating huge demand for vehicles which are further backed by new mining contracts coming up. Overall, we are very buoyant as an industry. As far as Mahindra is concerned, we are running at full capacity for tippers, currently producing around 250 to 350 tippers a month. The industry is in a flourishing situation where the demand for our tippers could go up to 450-500 a month for which we are ramping up capacity”, he explained.
The tipper market being a highly competitive one, what gives Mahindra the confidence to come out on top despite stiff challenge from both home-grown and multinational players? The CEO responded: “Our technology is our major strength and we are using it to provide better operating economics for our customers. For instance, the FuelSmart technology we offer on our vehicles helps customers across all segments. In fact, FuelSmart helps tipper customers more than haulage ones since the range of power requirement and variability is comparatively higher in tippers. Both from service and product point of view we are fully geared to provide that extra edge which would give customers an attractive value proposition based on which they would choose our tippers.”
In the right direction
While on one side the tipper market outlook is highly encouraging, Mahindra expressed concerns about the market scenario in the haulage segment. The company feels the surge in demand for haulage trucks during the second half of 2017 was not led by fundamental demand in the economy and was an after effect of GST implementation and BS-III vehicle ban, though it agreed the situation is much better at present with the market getting accustomed to BS-IV trucks.
Commenting on Mahindra’s focus in the HCV space, he said: “We are investing a lot in technology not just to meet BS-VI emission norms but to upgrade our trucks post-GST to suit market requirements better. We have introduced a 37-tonner with a pusher axle and are working on a couple of haulage tippers which should be ready this fiscal.”
At the beginning of FY18, the domestic HCV market was expected to grow by 5 to 7 per cent but the industry is currently powering towards double-digit growth with a jump of 12 to 15 per cent a good possibility. Mahindra is keen on making the most of the growth opportunity ahead. “With the share of modern trucks increasing, we have a 4.8 per cent market share in HCVs and are already in fourth place. In tractor-trailers, we are number three. This year, while the industry has grown by around 18 per cent in heavy trucks, we have grown by 43 per cent; in LCVs we are at par with the industry and have maintained our market share. Going forward, we aim to outgrow the industry and further improve our market share in the HCV space next year”, he signed off.