New players in the medium and heavy commercial vehicle (M&HCV) segment failed to make any dent in the market share of top two domestic truck majors — Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland (AL). Despite increased threat to sales and market share from global firms, both Tata and AL managed to protect and also grow their market shares in 2014-15.
M&HCV (above 7.5 tonnes segment) registered a growth of 16 per cent in volumes at 2.33 lakh units in 2014-15 after two worst years of sales decline. Truck segment grew by 21 per cent to 1.95 lakh units, while bus segment reported a decline of five per cent at 36,837 units.
In overall sales (include truck and bus categories), Tata Motors managed to maintain its market share with 55 per cent, while AL has regained it share at 28.5 per cent from 25.8 per cent.
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In the truck segment, AL exhibited a strong growth of 45 per cent and its market share in the segment grew to 27 per cent from 23 per cent. Tata has 57 per cent share.VE Commercial Vehicle (VECV) has reported a growth in both truck and bus segments and held the third position in the M&HCV market with a share of 11 per cent. Daimler India Commercial Vehicle (DICV) said it garnered a share of five per cent in truck segment in calendar year 2014 after selling 10,300 units. With their modern truck series, both VECV and DICV are emerging as formidable challengers to incumbents. However, the decision to buy a truck depends mainly on its operating economics and re-sale value, where the domestic majors have an advantage due to established name. “Owing to strong brand loyalty of incumbents, ramp-up by new players could be gradual. The industry may not see a significant change in market share in the immediate term,” according to Subrata Ray, Group Vice President – Corporate Ratings, Icra.