Greaves Cotton Ltd., a predominantly business-to-business (B2B) player supplying diesel engines to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as Piaggio, has, following a business transformation strategy, moved into the business-to-consumer (B2C) segment to take advantage of the fast moving electric vehicles (EV) industry and the BS-VI compliant engine business, top officials said.
Fuel-agnostic solution
Its fuel-agnostic engine solutions will add to its growth, they added.
“Three years ago, when disruptions were coming in, Greaves decided to shift focus from being a pure auto engine player to a fuel-agnostic solution provider and adopted a strategy to diversify into the non-automotive engine segment, clean mobility, including the fuel-efficient CNG engine, electric mobility and strengthen the after-market business,” said Nagesh Basavanhalli, MD and CEO, Greaves Cotton.
Having invested heavily in technology development, the firm has managed to develop a grounds-up BS-VI three-wheeler (3W) diesel single-cylinder engine in a record 24 months. This engine is best suited for city transportation as it delivers up to 30% lower emissions.This new engine will redefine all benchmarks and pave the way for the company to enter into new segment, the officials said.
Recently, the company acquired 100% stake in Ampere Vehicles in the electric mobility domain. Ampere is developing several new electric two-wheelers and eyeing a sizeable market share.
Non-auto diversification
While Ampere e-scooters can be used for last-mile personal transportation, numerous industrial applications can be powered by electric and e-rickshaw from Greaves officials said.
Greaves currently manufactures 7 HP to 700 HP engines. “Diversification into the non-automotive segment has paid off with exponential growth achieved in the last few years. The company has also expanded and strengthened the retail business (2W-3W) across the country in the form of Greaves Retail (380 stores) and Ampere Exclusive outlets (over 200) which have shown significant growth,” Mr. Basavanhalli said.
“Today, Greaves is well poised to grab upcoming opportunities in diverse (existing business) areas. This comes from our investment in multiple, newer business areas — non-automotive usage, multibrand spares Greaves Care, Greaves Retail in the last 3-4 years — which are now fetching good results and have strongly positioned the company to take it to the next level of growth,”he said.
Overall, the company has added ₹400 crore from the newer initiatives over the last three years and will continue to see impressive growth, he said.
