India?s third largest manufacturer of heavy commercial vehicles, Asia Motor Works (AMW), aims to increase its annual sales five-fold to 50,000 trucks per annum in the next three years, but the plan hinges on a revival in manufacturing activity that will push truck sales.
In the 2012 fiscal, the truckmaker sold 10,000 units, an increase of 50% over the previous year. ?If the past is anything to go by, we should reach sales of 50,000 units per annum in the next three years,? said Anirudh Bhuwalka, MD and CEO, AMW. ?But on the flip side, if things continue to be slow like in the current year, then it?s anybody?s guess.? AMW, which makes medium to heavy vehicles, ranging from the 16-tonne category to 49 tonne, launched 11 new products last year.
Commercial vehicle sales in India grew 9.5% to 3,49,387 units in fiscal 2012, industry body Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT) said in a report released on May 4. But the growth is coming from the sectors AMW is not present in. Sales of light commercial vehicles and intermediate commercial vehicles (8-to-14-tonne capacity) grew 14.3% and 22.9%, respectively, helping leaders Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland, that have vehicles in these categories too.
In April 2012, truck sales fell 15.3% to 18,876 compared to 22,287 in the same month last year. ?In case manufacturing sector fails to pick up and public sector oil companies are allowed to raise much overdue diesel prices, truck sales will take longer to turn green,? IFTRT said in its report.
Bhuwalka, though, was optimistic about industry-wide truck sales in the fiscal 2012. ?I think the one positive trigger for the industry would be reduction in interest rates and that we can already see happening from the RBI?s last monetary policy,? he said. ?In times of crisis, India reacts best and I believe an economic revival is just around the corner.?
AMW trucks are produced based on designs from an in-house team. It has an research and development team of 250 people. ?We have hired the best from across different companies and our R&D talent comes from India and abroad,? said Bhuwalka.
The company has a production capacity of 50,000 units per annum and it is running the plant only at 25% capacity. ?In the next three years, if we do reach our sales target the plant will function at full capacity,? said Bhuwalka.
