JSW Greentech’s Ampstar electric commercial vehicle brand plans to enter India’s light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment in around three to four years, The brand is currently focusing on establishing its presence in the heavy commercial vehicle (HCV) market, building customer acceptance and developing a distribution network.
The company is starting with the 55-tonne electric tractor-trailer segment, which Sumit Mittal, CEO, JSW Greentech, said was a deliberate choice to establish the company’s engineering credentials before moving into lower segments.
“The first being that we wanted to start with the most complex of the product types,” Mittal said, referring to the 55-tonne truck tractor-trailer. He said the segment involves higher loads, power requirements and system complexity, allowing the company to demonstrate its ability to handle complex engineering.
“We wanted to establish in the mind of the customer that this is a company which understands engineering, which understands complex engineering,” he said.
Mittal said starting at the top end would also help Ampstar avoid the perception challenges faced by companies that move from lower segments into higher categories.
The second reason for starting with heavy trucks is their impact on oil imports. “From an impact perspective, this is the segment which has the highest impact on import of oil,” Mittal said, adding that the strategy is aligned with the government’s national interest.
The company also sees a different commercial opportunity in LCVs. According to Mittal, the LCV segment is largely commoditised, with limited differentiation and thin margins.
“From a margin perspective, the LTV is now commoditised and everybody has the same product. There is very thin margin to that,” he said. “There is very little scope of improvement or creativity in that.”
In contrast, Mittal described LCVs as a relatively new segment in electric mobility, where manufacturers are starting afresh. Ampstar therefore plans to first establish its product, build market and customer acceptance and then gradually develop its distribution network.
“Once our distribution network is there, then we launch our LCV because this is not really a product game, it is a distribution game,” he said.
Mittal said the company currently sees a three-to-four-year timeline for entering the segment, although the plan could be accelerated.
“I think it is 3 to 4 years is what we are seeing but, you know, in JSW, you know, it is always a possibility to do it faster than what you call it today,” he said.
