Tata-group-owned Voltas is strengthening its position in room air conditioners, with its market share rising to 17.3% in the June quarter from 15.7% reported a year earlier. The company, which has a joint venture with Turkey’s Arcelik for home appliances, selling under the Voltas Beko name, has also gained market share in washing machines and refrigerators while expanding its presence in premium products.
Mukundan Menon, managing director, Voltas, spoke to Viveat Susan Pinto to discuss the company’s growth strategy, demand environment and emerging opportunities in commercial air conditioning space. Excerpts:
Q: How did Voltas cross sales of 1 million room air conditioners in Q1FY27 despite geopolitical uncertainty and high commodity inflation?
The milestone was important to us. In Voltas, milestones are like ice cubes on a hot summer day—they disappear fast, and we ask for more. Having said that, I believe the fundamentals simply came together for us. The strength of the Tata brand is always there, but we have also significantly strengthened our presence beyond the entry-level, value-for-money AC category.
We now have a strong play in the good category and a stronger presence in the better category. Our product launches have helped improve the salience of the brand. At the same time, we have strong distribution reach and execution capabilities. All these pieces came together for us.
Q: With inflationary pressures still persisting, do you see more price hikes in the second half of CY2026 after the two rounds you took in the first half? Will this hurt demand?
While January to June saw almost 12-13% in price hikes over two rounds, we expect the second half of CY2026 to be far more stable on the pricing front. While uncertainty remains on the geopolitical and weather fronts, if we need to pass on any price increases, it will most likely be by moderating trade schemes instead of taking significant price hikes.
We will also buffer some of the increases with our cost-takeout and efficiency programmes. As far as demand is concerned, the upcoming festive season will be stronger for appliances, especially refrigerators and washing machines, than for ACs. Our focus will be to premiumise our appliances portfolio, where we have had a limited presence so far.
While the mass end in durables continues to be our core and will remain that way, we are seeing traction for energy-efficient, feature-loaded and connected products. We have also entered local manufacturing of premium categories such as frost-free and side-by-side refrigerators and fully automatic washing machines. This is helping us meet demand for these products.
Q: Where do you see the biggest growth opportunity for Voltas in the future?
The first direction is to become a full-stack appliances company. That is the opportunity we are working towards over the long term. As part of this initiative, we have a vision of Har Ghar Voltas—of having a Voltas appliance in every single home in India.
The low penetration levels of durables in India give us adequate room to achieve this. Air conditioners have 8–10% penetration, while refrigerators, washing machines, kitchen appliances also have significant headroom for growth. So, the opportunity over the next three to four years is very large for us.
And then there is the B2B opportunity. Commercial air conditioning is currently under-leveraged. With data centres, manufacturing facilities and infrastructure projects coming up across the country, we see this becoming a future growth engine for Voltas.
Q: How are you preparing for these future growth opportunities?
We have already invested significantly in room air conditioners and commercial refrigeration. These categories are well taken care of over the next few years. As far as the commercial air conditioning business is concerned, we are making investments of almost Rs 200 crore to meet requirements over the next few years.
We are also building a data-centre vertical. The opportunity in data centres alone is around Rs 6,000 crore annually in India. This is a highly intensive business, where projects have to be delivered quickly. We are building the capabilities and channels to achieve this.
Q: What is your sense of how demand and consumers are evolving in durables?
There is a premiumisation wave visible not only in large metros, but also in tier 2 and tier 3 markets. Consumers across markets are researching online and on social media platforms before making a purchase.
We are dealing with a far more informed consumer who wants better products. Consumers are also getting younger. As a brand, the endeavour would be to meet consumer aspirations across segments.