Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), part of the German automaker, has reported double digit growth in sales of its BharatBenz trucks.
The trucks gained market share in the domestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle (M&HCV) segment during the April-June quarter, the company said. Sales of BharatBenz grew 30 per cent to 3,900 units during the period, against year-ago period sales of 3,000 units.
However, the numbers were lower than the 4,000 units sold in the January-March quarter.
The total M&HCV (goods carriers) sales in the domestic market stood at 63,049 during the June quarter, against 53,332 units in the year-ago period. DICV’s market share increased to 6.2 per cent from 5.6 per cent.
“At BharatBenz, the second quarter 2016 once again showed double-digit growth over the previous year’s Q2,” a company spokesperson told BusinessLine .
“The key drivers were the new generation of medium-duty trucks we introduced earlier this year, and our heavy-duty construction vehicles, including India’s strongest indigenised construction and mining truck, the BharatBenz 3143CM with 430 HP. Besides medium-duty haulage and heavy-duty construction vehicles, our sales of tractors also developed favourably.”
“Our focus remains on the sustainable development of our business, driven by the aim to give customers the best value for their money in the industry.
“This includes further growth in domestic sales and expansion of our sales and service network, as well as in our exports business under the Fuso brands. For Fuso exports, we will add more than 10 markets in 2016 alone, adding to the existing 20-plus markets in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America,” he added.
Market leaderTata Motors continues to dominate the M&HCV market with an about 50 per cent market share, though it was down from 53 per cent a year ago. Ashok Leyland and VE Commercial Vehicle (a Volvo-Eicher joint venture) had a share of 28 per cent (27.5 per cent) and 12 per cent (9.5 per cent) respectively.
Though the Indian M&HCV industry is highly consolidated, with the top two players accounting for 80 per cent, the scenario has been changing gradually. The increasing shift in favour of advanced trucking platforms — driven by not just regulatory requirements but also changing customer expectations — is helping new players.
VE Commercial Vehicle and Daimler have emerged as the frontrunners among the new entrants. Other players, such as Mahindra & Mahindra and SML Isuzu, are also making inroads.