Despite a delayed summer and intermittent rains in some parts of the country this year, the air-conditioner sales so far are almost on a par with that in 2014.
“Figures for month-on-month may look negative, but the overall growth is as good as last year till this point in time,” said Sanjeev Bakshi, Chief Operating Officer (Air-Conditioners), Videocon.
“The market will cross four million units in 2015 from around 3.5 million in 2014.”
Announcing the launch of the company’s new range of air-conditioners with ‘Quantum Edge’ technology, he said Videocon is keen riding the growth wave and doubling its market share from the current five per cent.
To achieve this, the company will expand its retail horizon (particularly in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala and Delhi), and by aggressive marketing campaign in these markets.
Elaborating on the Quantum Edge technology, Akshay Dhoot, Head of Technology and Innovation, Videocon, said after years of R&D, it has succeeded in crafting an air-conditioner that can deliver good performance even in extreme weather conditions and at the same time energy efficient. Even the noise levels will be very low.
“We have to tweak the T3 Compressor to make it compatible even in the toughest weather conditions and give a better air throw,” he said.
The new range comes in two variants 1.5 tonne with 5 star BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency) labelling and 3 star BEE labelling, sporting a price tag of ₹47,000 and ₹39,000. It stopped manufacturing 2-star models.
Overall, Videocon has launched 65 new models this year. It manufactures its air-conditioners at Aurangabad facility, where it has capacity to rollout five lakh units a year.