Indian CE market has been on a strong recovery track after an ebb of 4 years and is slated to increase by 50 per cent to around 75,000 units by 2019.
Sachin Nijhawan, Vice President and Business Head, Mahindra Construction Equipment

  “The Planning Commission estimates total infrastructure spending to be about 10 per cent of GDP during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-17), up from 7.6 per cent during the previous plan (2007-12). Investment in infrastructure and road building sector with projects like Bharat Mala are the main growth drivers for the construction equipment industry. With these investments set to go up, demand for construction equipment is expected to rise and the equipment sales are estimated to expand at a CAGR of 6.2 per cent. Being recent entrant into the industry, we intend to capitalize on this growth by providing superior products that offer customer good profitability over the life cycle,” said Sachin Nijhawan, Vice President and Business Head, Mahindra Construction Equipment while commenting on the recent performance of construction equipment industry. 

Backhoe Loaders to remain the growth pivot
Speaking about how 2016 was for the company, he said, “Investment in infrastructure, utilities, ports, roads and highways are the main growth drivers for construction equipment industry. The total expenditure on infrastructure in 12th Five-year Plan (2012-17) is estimated 10 per cent of GDP, up from 7.6 per cent during the previous Plan (2007-2012). This increased spend on infrastructure would drive the growth in construction equipment sales. The trend is already evident as Indian CE market has been on a strong recovery track after an ebb of 4 years and is slated to increase by 50 per cent to around 75,000 units by 2019.”

He further adds, “Backhoe Loaders would continue to remain the pivot of this growth of Indian construction equipment sector which has registered year on year robust growth of 44 per cent in first half (H-1) and would continue to grow in coming years. We have also grown in line with the market and expect to outperform the industry in second half (H-2).”

Innovating for tomorrow
Sharing the achievements of Mahindra in this year, Nijhawan said, “Innovation is order of the day and we believe to provide the products and services which help the industry to rise. In fact, when we entered the construction equipment industry with our backhoe loader – Mahindra EarthMaster, it had many first.  We were the leader to provide telematics for remote care and joystick for ease of operation in the traditional backhoe loader segment. Continuous improvement drives us forward and we believe in providing solutions which make real difference to our end customer. As a serious player in the construction equipment industry, you should expect to hear about our new innovations and products soon. Also, on the sales front till October apart from main competition in the Backhoe Loader segment Mahindra is the only brand which has shown growth in market share percentage thus far.”