Even as the domestic commercial vehicle market is on the road to recovery, exports are growing with increasing acceptance for Made in India big trucks in markets beyond SAARC region.
Though annual export volumes of medium and heavy duty (M&HD) trucks are below 20,000 units (as compared to domestic sales of about 162,000 units), they are expected to grow significantly in the coming years in view of the aggressive plans of domestic and foreign companies.
In FY14, exports of M&HD trucks grew by about 40 per cent at 16,709 units, while during the first quarter of present fiscal, it more than doubled to about 5,000 units (2400 units). These are excluding exports of Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) as it doesn’t disclose monthly or quarterly sales.
Among the key reasons for increasing truck exports by Indian firms such as Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland are development of modern trucks and high HP engines. By producing trucks with world-class features and powered by higher HP engines, these companies could make such products appeal to buyers in various markets, particularly in developing nations. Also, global brands such as Daimler and Volvo have made their Indian operations as their export hubs to serve various markets, yet another acknowledgement for India’s world class manufacturing capabilities.
Presently Tata is the largest truck exporter from India, followed by VE Commercial Vehicle (VECV) and Ashok Leyland. Tata’s present major market is SAARC nations, while it is aggressively expanding to African region, Australia and Indonesia, among others. DICV has been selling India-built Fuso trucks since May 2013 in various markets as India has been made as its hub to serve Asian and African markets.
VECV’s present export markets include South Asia and some countries of Africa and Middle East, its new products that are being unveiled now will also be adapted for exports to these markets by leveraging the Volvo Group distribution.
“The exports focus of India OEMs has shifted from just meeting the requirement of nearby countries to relatively more developed/advanced markets in South-East Asia, Middle East and Africa with newly developed truck platforms,” said Shamsher Dewan, Vice President, Icra.
