Volvo-Eicher bullish on UP truck market

Market share in light and medium truck space pan-India is 31%

Volvo-Eicher joint venture VE Commercial Vehicle (VECV) is bullish on the Uttar Pradesh truck market.

The company on Friday launched its new Eicher Pro series of light- and medium-duty trucks in the UP market, which had clocked total sales of about 19,300 units in 2013.

“The growth during the first five months of 2014 has been more than the corresponding period last year. This makes us optimistic of better numbers, although the market is yet to regain momentum of 2012,” company’s Senior Vice-President (sales and marketing) Shyam Maller told Business Standard here.

In 2012, the composite truck sales in UP was pegged at 30,200, when the segment was booming. However, the general economic slowdown hit the market last year and the sales tumbled by over 35 per cent. Now, the green shoots are appearing.

“The sentiments are positive and we feel the segment has already bottomed out,” he noted, adding the coming monsoon would be crucial for faster recovery.

Pan-India, VECV had commanded the market share of 13.8 percent in 2013 compared to 12.7 percent in 2012.  “We have a strong presence in the light and medium duty truck segment in India and have market share of over 31 percent,” Maller informed.

In the light and medium truck space, VECV has market share of over 32 percent in UP.