Uphill task for truck makers after poor FY17

Improvement in volumes for Tata Motors, Leyland and Volvo Eicher hinges on pick-up in infra activity

For the medium and heavy commercial vehicle (M&HCV) segment, having struggled with weak demand in 2016-17, the first half of 2017-18 is going to be as disappointing.

With pre-buying ahead of the implementation of the government-mandated higher emission norms not as expected, analysts are not sure about demand picking up anytime soon. The M&HCV space sold 350,000 units in FY17, flat over FY16 and a far cry from the 11.2 per cent growth in FY16. Sales of trucks were 1.3 per cent lower year-on-year; the bus segment fared better, with 5.7 per cent more. Heavy trucks’ sales had been the