CNH puts building blocks in place for India

Efforts are also underway to increase market share in tractors where the New Holland brand has been a marginal player so far. Raunak Varma, MD & Country Head, CNH Industrial India, tells Murali Gopalan that global headquarters will now play a far more proactive role in India.

- Murali Gopalan

Better late than never. From Raunak Varma’s point of view, the fact that CNH Industrial is finally beginning to appreciate what India has to offer in the tractor space is by itself a good reason to be optimistic about the road ahead.

As Managing Director & Country Head, CNH Industrial India & SAARC, Varma and his team have been working relentlessly over the last four years to put a strong base in place for the tractor business that has been sold for years under the New Holland brand.

He admits that its presence is little to write home about especially with bigger rivals like Mahindra & Mahindra, TAFE and Escorts but all that is hopefully a thing of the past with a firmer intent to put things back on track now. The CNH of today, which includes the Case construction equipment brand, is now keen on giving a fillip to the India business.

“We are late in the game but can leapfrog at CNH. When we are setting things up like the tech centre in Noida, it reflects a recognition of the strategic importance of India for the group and creating more value,” says Varma.

Eventually, it boils down to bringing “at par or even better competencies” along with better value. “We can produce, invest and develop products at cheaper costs for customers and at a better value,” he adds. By the end of this year or early 2023, CNH will be able to cover all of its R&D needs out of India and become more agile in the process.

Sure, there are still some components and certain validation where “I still have to go to Italy or the US” but all that will stop once India takes over completely. Quality issues can also be dealt with here and with CNH’s strong presence worldwide, it helps improve India’s prospects of developing equipment for overseas markets.