Indian trucks conquer alien terrain

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: For their robust looks, moderate prices and excellent performance, commercial vehicles from India are a big hit in the overseas markets, especially when they are compared with products from traditional suppliers. Easy availability of spare parts is another big reason why Indian commercial vehicles are outdoing those from Europe, Japan and China. Data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) show India’s exports of commercial vehicles went up by a robust 19.10% during 2007-08 at 58,999 units against 49,537 units recorded in the previous financial year.

“Indian commercial vehicles are more successful in global markets as they offer optimum performance at an affordable cost and are matched by a good network. Hence, the USP of Indian commercial vehicles abroad is low operating costs,” says Tata Motors’ official spokesperson.

Adds A Ramasubramanian, chief executive officer (commercial vehicle division), Eicher Motors, “While commercial vehicles manufactured in India are very robust and more suitable to the rugged terrain, those manufactured in Japan and Europe are technically more advanced. Since the countries where Indian manufacturers are operating are very similar to ours, vehicles from India tend to garner a bigger market share compared with others.”

“Moreover, Indian vehicles are priced substantially, almost 25-30% less than the highly technical vehicles supplied by European and Japanese companies. Indian vehicles are also cost-effective. So, they have an edge over their competitors,” he adds.

Tata Motors continues to be the largest exporter of both medium and heavy commercial vehicles (M&HCVs) and light commercial vehicles (LCVs). The company, that is present in 23 countries including South Africa, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Bangladesh, the UAE and Turkey, exported 13,093 units of M&HCVs in FY08 compared with 11,491 units in FY07, a growth of 13.94%. Similarly, its total export of LCVs went up by 11.21% at 26,099 units compared with 23,468 units during 2006-07.

Ashok Leyland, a distant second, exported 7,076 units of M&HCVs in FY08 as compared with 6,011 units in FY07, a jump of 17.72%. However, the export of its LCVs grew a robust 1,385.7% (though on a small base), to 208 units during April-March 2007-08 compared with a mere 14 units in 2006-07.