Growth revival spurs demand for Volvo trucks, sales up by 55%

Riding on the revival of growth in the mining and construction sectors, Swedish transport major Volvo Trucks’ Indian subsidiary is bracing to meet the growing demand for its premium vehicles.

“The worst is behind us. We are upbeat on growing by more than 50 percent in sales this calendar year (2015) over 2014 when we sold 900 units, as demand from core sectors has picked up,” Volvo Truck India president Pierre Jean Verge Salamon told reporters here at an event here on Thursday.

With the first move advantage of foraying into India 17 years ago in 1998, the company sold 10,000 trucks so far, with 5,000 units during the first decade (1999-2009) and the remaining 5,000 units in past five years.

“At the rate we are growing since 2014, we hope to sell the next 10,000 units in three-four years, as demand is projected to remain high in the core mining and construction sectors over the next five years,” Salamon said.

Noting that the recent coal block auctions and lifting ban on iron ore mining in Karnataka, Goa and Odisha have created huge demand for heavy-duty tipper trucks, he said economic rebound and fresh investments in core sectors like mining, infrastructure, construction and transportation would help the stakeholders in the value chain to expand capacity and grow.

With a cumulative investment of Rs.800 crore in its production facility at Hoskote, about 40km from here, the company rolls out heavy duty commercial trucks in the premium segment for mining and construction industries.

“About 70 percent of our dump trucks and tippers in FMX range are deployed in mining and construction areas, while the remaining 30 percent of rigid trucks are used for special applications such as fire tenders, sky lifts, boom pumps, concrete mixers and tractors in different configurations,” Volvo Trucks vice-president A.S. Rama Rao said.

Of the three broad product portfolios, the tractor series in FM range carry petroleum and chemicals, bulk cargo, construction materials and over dimension cargo, while the FH series are used for long-haulage and over-dimension cargo applications.

Growth revival spurs demand for Volvo trucks, sales up by 55%

Claiming 60 market share in the premium segment,Volvo became the first European brand to sell 10,000 units in India, , with half the sales coming through its joint venture (Volvo Commercial Ltd) with Eicher Motor Ltd since 2008. It has 150 customers across the country.

The company plans to invest substantially in its facility to expand its installed capacity of 1,500 units per year and hire more engineers to ramp up from 1,000 employees it has currently to meet demand for its products.

Source: http://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/automotive/construction-equipment/growth-revival-spurs-demand-for-volvo-trucks-sales-up-by-55/47729055