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Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) has reported highest-ever quarterly sales of its BharatBenz trucks as also double-digit market share in September quarter.
The company has doubled truck sales at 4,855 units during July-September 2017 compared with 2,438 units in the year-ago period. Its previous highest quarterly sales were 4,037 units, which was achieved in the first quarter of the calendar year 2016.
“Customer response has been particularly strong in the heavy-duty segment, where we continue to win many new customers with our all-new heavy-duty truck range. The fact we added a second production shift just recently also reflects our growth trajectory,” said Eric Nesselhauf, Managing Director and CEO, DICV, told BusinessLine .
The company, which follows calendar year for its accounts, has sold 12,145 BharatBenz trucks during the first three quarters of 2017 against 10,381 units in the same period in 2016, a growth of 17 per cent.
Nesselhauf said DICV was expecting to end 2017 with strong growth, and to sustain the growth momentum in 2018 too. BS-IV norm and GST along with the latest stimulus package for infrastructure push will augur well for the company to sustain its growth.
“Our order books are full. With the introduction of our second production shift, we have geared up to capture further opportunities for profitable growth,” he added.
With strong sales in September quarter, DICV’s market share touched double-digit. Its market share in 9-49 tonne truck segment has increased to 10.8 per cent during July-September period, up from 7.1 per cent in a year-ago quarter and 8.7 per cent in the April-June 2017 period.
“We are optimistic about the market. More than ever before, borderless pan-Indian transportation and the hub-and-spoke model in logistics require modern, fuel-efficient trucks with higher uptime. Further regulatory updates will also play into our hands as we already meet the incoming new safety norms. We’ve also been offering AC as an option since 2012,” said Nesselhauf.
However, DICV pointed out that although the Indian medium and heavy commercial vehicle market has recovered perceptibly after many quarters of significant contraction, the strong market recovery anticipated due to the GST taking effect has been only slight so far.
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