Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles Ltd (VECV) has grown 10 times in the last 15 years, a top company official told FE. In July 2008, when VECV was set up, its turnover was about $200 million, and now it has touched almost $2 billion.
Vinod Aggarwal, the MD & CEO of VECV, told FE that the Volvo Group has supported VECV with the right technology at the right time, and that has helped the company launch some industry-best and industry-first solutions in the commercial vehicle (CV) space. “Thanks to Volvo, we didn’t have to reinvent the wheel,” Agarwal said. “Whatever technology we needed, it was provided by Volvo. All we had to do was making it operational and the right fit for the Indian market.”
VECV has invested Rs 7,000 crore in the last 15 years from internal accruals. The company currently has a cash surplus of Rs 2,900 crore (as of March 31, 2023), which is almost four times the Rs 750 crore cash surplus the joint venture had in 2008.
According to data provided by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, VECV was the fourth-largest CV player in the country in FY23, with sales of 72,827 units. Sales grew faster for VECV, at 54%, at a time when industry volumes went up by 34% to 962,468 units. The company also exported 4,933 vehicles last fiscal year. “We are today exporting to about 40 countries,” Aggarwal said. “Including exports, we registered our highest ever sales of 77,760 units in FY23. But more than that – and thanks to a partner such as Volvo – we undertook industry-leading initiatives in digitalisation, retail excellence, superior product technology and service delivery, and modernised commercial transportation. All our trucks are connected trucks, fitted with telematics units, which allows us to monitor trucks 24×7 and provide AI-based predictive support.”
VECV is working on multiple fuel technologies, including diesel, biodiesel, CNG/LNG, electrification, hydrogen internal combustion engine (H2ICE) and hydrogen fuel cell, of which the last two are in the development stage. The CV maker had showcased these at the Auto Expo earlier this year.
Last month, it had collaborated with Amazon to scale electric truck deployment for middle and last-mile deliveries, and both aim to introduce up to 1,000 electric trucks from eight to 24 feet deck lengths into Amazon’s delivery operations over five years. It has begun pilots for Amazon’s e-commerce deliveries in Indore, Delhi, Manesar and Gurugram.
Earlier this month, VECV signed a MoU with GreenCell Mobility to supply the latter 1,000 electric buses. Under the MoU, VECV will supply Eicher electric buses to GreenCell’s intercity business, NueGo, over five years.
