VE Commercial Vehicles, which sells the Eicher brand of buses, has made strong inroads in the bus segment in recent times. Aggressively working on increasing its co-operation with the STUs across the country, Eicher has demonstrated its tech capability through its Hybrid and Electric Skyline Pro models which, along with its diesel variants, make for an expanding product portfolio across different sub-segments within the bus sector.
We find out more on the performance and future plans of Eicher’s bus business in an exclusive interview with Mr. Shyam Maller, EVP - Light and Medium Duty Trucks and Buses, VE Commercial Vehicles.
Excerpts: How has Eicher’s bus business performed in FY18? Please share details in terms of sales numbers, market share, new product introductions, etc. What have been the growth drivers within the segment?
Eicher has always set new standards for itself, maintaining a positive sales trend and healthy market share, even though the market is down. Eicher has manufactured more than 15,000 buses last year. This includes both chassis & built-up buses for domestic & export markets across segments. We are expecting good traction in the coming months with the school buying season starting in the next quarter. Demand from inter-city and route permit in this quarter is also expected to make a bounce back. Our bus market share stands at 17.5% with sales of 8,197 units till January 2018.
The bus industry is currently in the stabilisation process following the immediate impact of transition to the BS-IV fuel norms and GST implementation last year. In the private segment, good monsoon, coupled with positive festive season last year demand led to revival of growth in the route permit and inter-city segment. In public transportation, the revival is expected to be led by demand from Government undertakings fuelled by initiatives like Smart City & AMRUT. Also, several cities are in the process of replacing their ageing fleet of city buses and going in for new buses through the PPP route.
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