Daimler India Industrial Automobiles (DICV), the Indian arm of Germany’s Daimler Truck AG, says it has registered its best-ever gross sales and monetary progress within the calendar 12 months 2023. The corporate, which began promoting its BharatBenz vary of vans in 2012, says 2023 was its first 12 months within the second decade of operations in India and seeks to consolidate its place as a number one CV model in India on this decade with a multi-pronged technique. Satyamkam Arya, Managing Director and CEO, DICV, spoke to businessline on the firm’s Oragadam manufacturing unit about its monetary efficiency in 2023 and investments in merchandise, community, and capability going ahead to understand its targets. Edited excerpts:
How has your second decade began in India?
Nicely, 2023 was an outstanding 12 months for us. It was the most effective 12 months when it got here to gross sales numbers. The home medium and heavy industrial car (M&HCV) market grew 10 per cent final 12 months. However, our volumes grew 35 per cent. Now we have outperformed the market by three-and-a-half instances. Within the bus section, the market was fairly sturdy and it recorded progress of 70 per cent in contrast with 2022. However BharatBenz greater than doubled its bus volumes with a progress of 107 per cent, outperforming the market. Total, we had a progress of 39 per cent in complete home gross sales of vans and buses at 25,435 items. Together with exports, we had our best-ever volumes that crossed 33,000 items in 2023. With this substantial progress in gross sales and exports in addition to a 21 per cent rise in elements income, our income went up 21 per cent in 2023. However we are actually a worthwhile enterprise in India and rising sustainably. DICV reported a web revenue for the primary time in a calendar 12 months.
How do you see the demand state of affairs for the M&HCV market in 2024?
Nicely, we anticipate 2024 to be a flat 12 months for M&HCV. In the event you have a look at the primary twomonths of this 12 months, it was 11 per cent decrease than in 2023, because of the excessive base impact and the onset of elections. We imagine that this quarter will likely be like that — 10-11 per cent decrease. Usually, the primary quarter of a monetary 12 months will anyway be gradual. This 12 months, we even have the Normal elections enjoying out in that quarter. Thus, the primary half of 2024 will likely be slower than 2023, however the volumes will nonetheless be increased than 2020 or 2021. If we get a steady authorities, which all of us are very hopeful of, we imagine that the second half will likely be fairly sturdy. So, total, we imagine the 12 months might be a flat 12 months in contrast with 2023 or barely decrease by as much as 5 per cent. The bus market will nonetheless proceed to develop. Now we have already seen greater than 50 per cent progress within the first two months and we imagine the market might find yourself with 25-30 per cent progress in 2024. We’re aspiring to repeat the 2023 present of outpacing business progress throughout classes in 2024 too.
Will DICV have a look at investing in progress going ahead, as you can not do earlier because of the have to adjust to new rules?
Sure, we’ve got already begun the train beginning with 2023, which was the primary 12 months in our second decade in India. There will likely be two focus areas for us — progress and sustainability. We anticipate to continue to grow on this decade and place ourselves as a formidable CV participant in India. So, investments have already began to allow progress. We made some investments in our product portfolio in 2023. This 12 months additionally, we’re persevering with to spend money on our merchandise and can convey out a complete new vary of multi-axle rigids, tractor trailers, and development autos in India. We’re additionally introducing AMT in tractor-trailer and development product segments. So the funding in enabling progress has already began.
Are you additionally increasing capability and community to help progress?
Sure, we’ll proceed to increase our community. In 2023, we added about 40 touchpoints, taking the overall variety of touchpoints to 350. In 2024, we want to add at the very least 25 touchpoints to extend the quantity to 375. Whereas we’re current throughout India, there are nonetheless some white spots that we’ve got to deal with. For instance, in 2023, we ventured into all States within the japanese area. Now we’ve got companions, who’re within the means of organising the community. Now we have seen main investments in Uttar Pradesh the place our community isn’t sturdy.
Within the manufacturing areas, we’re additionally endeavor some debottlenecking to extend the capability at our manufacturing unit. However we don’t require a serious funding as a result of the plant itself was set for increased quantity. There are totally different meeting strains and totally different capability areas. Whereas the infrastructure has been constructed for a capability of 72,000 items a 12 months, the capability was activated for 36,000 items. As our volumes are reaching near this capability, we’re including incremental capability to help progress.
How is your used truck enterprise doing?
It’s doing fairly nicely. We launched our used truck enterprise throughout Covid — ‘Alternate’ and ‘Licensed’. With Alternate, we’ve got reached a stage the place 15 per cent of our new gross sales are actually enabled by the alternate. Now, we’re working very closely on the licensed enterprise, which suggests we take again the outdated BharatBenz, refurbish it, and supply it to the purchasers with a guaranty. In order that’s one thing that we’ve got began to work on since final 12 months and we’ll slowly construct that up. Now we’re working with our sellers to open these ‘licensed’ retailers. Presently, there are some sellers for licensed enterprise within the South and we’ll slowly increase to pan-India.
Printed on March 26, 2024