Gagandeep Singh Gandhok, the Senior Vice President of HD Truck Business at Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles (VECV), believes that the industry sales volume for heavy duty trucks is likely to touch 2,75,000–2,80,000 units by the end of FY24. In comparison, 2,4,7858 units of heavy-duty trucks (more than 18.5 tonnes) were sold in FY23.
He was expressing his optimistic outlook on the ongoing and planned growth in mining, infrastructure, and road-related projects during an interaction with Autocar Professional. “Infrastructure projects, especially roads, announced by the government will significantly change the face of the industry,” Gandhok said.
Eicher Heavy Duty (HD) trucks in FY23 recorded the highest ever volumes of 18,965 units with a 7.7 percent market share. All sub-segments of HD, like 4X2 haulage, MAV haulage, and Tippers and Tractors, have also registered all-time high volumes. Eicher HD was also able to establish a strong foothold in the North region and it consolidated its presence in the Eastern territories, the company’s annual reports reveal.
Highlighting the company’s growing dominance in the segment, the top executive said that the company’s market share in the heavy-duty truck segment was just about 1.9 percent in 2008, the year in which Eicher and Volvo formed the joint venture. It steadily increased over the course of the period, before reaching around 7.7 percent in FY23.
The development should be seen in the context of new tenders worth approximately Rs 2 lakh crore that are either in the process of being finalised or nearing completion for a range of road projects and motorways in the next few months. This amount is more than enough to give a further boost to the construction industry for the next few years.
To capitalise on the growing opportunities, VECV announced the launch of the Eicher Non-Stop Series on Monday. This is a new range of heavy-duty trucks designed for fast-evolving long-haul transportation in the country.
The Non-Stop series, encompassing four new heavy-duty trucks, is equipped with powerful and fuel-efficient engines and supported by a connected service ecosystem to deliver enhanced performance and superior uptime to fleet owners. The Eicher Pro 6019XPT, Tipper; Eicher Pro 6048XP, haulage truck; Eicher Pro 6055XP, and Eicher Pro 6055XP 4×2 tractor-trucks complement Eichers extensive line-up of heavy, medium, and light duty trucks and buses.
Gandhok, emphasising the significance of this milestone, said, “Eicher offers a robust heavy-duty portfolio to its customers, supported by a connected service ecosystem, resulting in increased productivity and profitability. The new range of vehicles has been designed to ensure exceptional performance, and with our holistic service solutions that leverage AI and machine learning, they are poised to deliver non-stop growth in business and profitability.”
VECV is a multi-brand, multi-division company that manufactures a complete range of premium, next-generation trucks across 4.9–55T and buses with a seating capacity of 12-72 across light, medium, and heavy-duty applications.
Besides manufacturing Eicher and Volvo trucks and buses, VECV is engaged in the distribution of Volvo trucks in India, engine manufacturing, and exports for Volvo.
Talking about the alternate fuel demand in the heavy-duty truck segment, Gandhok noted that his company is ready with all the alternate fuel technologies; however, currently, there is no significant demand for CNG trucks in the heavy-duty segment from customers. He further remarked that LNG and electric vehicles could be potential alternative fuels, but there is no clear indication from customers yet about their preferred alternative fuel option.