Excon 2022 FAQ - 2
Coming after a gap of nearly 2 years, thoughts and expectations from EXCON 2022. At Mahindra Construction Equipment, we are especially excited to know that the Excon event is happening after a gap post the pandemic. The pandemic indeed took away a lot of opportunities for growth and connection all over the world, but this time around, MCE is all geared up to showcase all the products in our range at South Asia’s largest construction equipment event. Not only that, but the prospect of interacting with a much larger audience, and the other renowned exhibitionists is a thrilling one.
The economic halt propagated by the wave of the Covid 19 pandemic has had an adverse effect on mostly all sectors of manufacturing and production, including the construction equipment industry. In spite of significant steps taken by the government to push for the development of infrastructure - there was a degrowth of 23% in construction equipment sales. Mahindra CE was not immune to this worldwide economic slowdown and we noticed a 1% decrease in the sales of our backhoe loaders in the throes of the pandemic between 2019 - 2021. After having enjoyed the title of being the second largest supplier of construction equipment pieces in 2018, the waves of the pandemic and subsequent national lockdowns caused our market share to decline to 13%. But in the year 2022 alone, we have slowly and surely recovered sales post the disturbances caused by the Covid 19 outbreak.
We at Mahindra are adapting constantly to be in tune with the ever changing needs and demands of the construction equipment market in India. However, natural inflations, post Covid inflations, significant increases in the costs of raw materials post the pandemic have certainly affected us and all other companies like us in this sector. Manufacturers all over are facing the brunt of an economy trying to slowly recover all the losses it has incurred over the last 2 years. We at Mahindra always strive for perfection, and guaranteed customer satisfaction. Yes, it has affected profitability but we have ensured that we do not burden our customers and clientele with inflated prices. The higher costs of BSIV engines have in fact affected ownership costs but we aim to create construction equipment that is efficient and cutting edge and also do their bit for the environment. By keeping emissions in check as per the national mandate - we meet the criteria for sustainability.
At Mahindra and Mahindra, we have cultivated and curated a strong network over the many years we have been serving in this industry. Being the industry leader in the Automotive sector has helped us gain a strong sense of trust from customers. After the pandemic, we did face an unprecedented increase in the demand for the MCE range of products that affected our supply chain. Tensions across the India - China border also played a role in halting the smooth running of processes in the supply chain. However, we are now working at a much larger capacity of utilisation and have modified and fixed supply chain issues. We at MCE are always working tirelessly to find alternative ways to stabilise and balance situations like this. We reflect on our practices to make sure we create a positive environment for the people in our workforce.
After the economic slowdown caused by the pandemic had settled down, we observed a high demand in the construction equipment machinery sector. The projects that had been halted were now starting to pick up pace again. In 2022 alone Mahindra has already registered an 80% year over year growth in the commercial vehicle sector. At MCE, we provide machinery that are built with cutting edge technology and AI systems, and built for the Indian terrain and in 2022 we estimate a year over year growth that is 2x than that of the previous year.
We are hopeful for the future of the construction equipment industry in India. The government has also backed the sector by pushing investment into infrastructure, which is the need of the hour. However, we want to be aware and prepared for anything that might come our way. One major risk could be a national lockdown due to a fourth wave of the pandemic. This will impact ongoing projects and could potentially halt manufacturing as well, affecting our year over year projections.
Another exciting event that will happen is the unveiling of our new graders in the niche segment that are BSIV compliant. These graders are embedded with revolutionary iMAXX telematics solutions that provide clients with the ability to track and analyse data in real time.
