India set to become second-largest player in global construction equipment industry by 2030: Volvo official

Sector moving towards electromobility, autonomous solutions using tech like IoT, virtual reality and self-learning machines: Jernberg

Melker Jernberg, executive vice-president, Volvo Group. Photo: Special Arrangement

India is poised to become the second-largest player in the Construction Equipment (CE) industry behind China by 2030, as the country is bound to witness ‘quantum growth’ in infrastructure development projects in the next 5-10 years, said Melker Jernberg, executive vice-president, Volvo Group.

“With a solid push from the government’s ambitious infrastructure development plans like National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development, National Monetisation Pipeline and Gatishakti, India will rise to [be] a key player, the second-largest in the CE sector by 2030,’‘ he said.

The industry had witnessed a significant impact on production, demand and supply chain, following the pandemic and had to reduce activity and cut costs, Mr. Jernberg said. The widening supply-demand gap added to its woes with surging material and logistics costs. The sector also witnessed an unusual increase in demand, and also huge supply-side constraints simultaneously, he pointed out.

India had seen a drop in demand in FY22 mainly due to factors such as pre-buy in the last quarter (Q4) of the previous fiscal in connection with emission regulation change to CEV4; the second wave of COVID-19 in the first quarter of FY22; lower road construction rate in the second part of 2021; higher raw material prices pushing up selling prices; and, supply-side shortages due to global disturbances caused by the pandemic and the Ukraine war, said Mr. Jernberg, who is also president, Volvo Construction Equipment.

However, he said, both domestic and export volumes had grown for Volvo’s CE business, compared with the previous year.

‘Embracing digital tech’

Technological advancements the world over in the CE space had been quite rapid in recent times, he said. Environment concerns had driven ecofriendly engine developments leading to lower emissions. The use of electronics and telematics had driven efficiency while ongoing developments in hydraulics would reduce power losses, delivering much higher value for the users, he said.

“Globally, the construction equipment industry is clearly moving towards electromobility and autonomous solutions using technologies like IoT, virtual reality and self-learning machines. India shall also witness such technological changes in the coming years,’‘ Mr. Jernberg added.