Scania is seriously planning its next move in the Indian market. The company entered India in 2007 in a partnership with L&T by introducing Tipper trucks for the mining segment.Mr. Klas Dahlberg, Vice President - Franchise and Factory Sales (Africa, Middle East and South Asia), said: “In India, we are currently working in the mining segment together with L&T. We are interested in India and looking at how we can expand our business. We have placed one person from Scania at Bangalore and the feasibility study is currently on”.
Scania has so far sold 500 tippers in the last 2.5 years. The trucks are being imported as fully built units except the tipper bodies and tyres which are fitted locally. Tipper bodies are built at Hyva India.
“We today have a co-operation with L&T and we see a lot of possibilities for the future. We are currently selling around 250 trucks per annum in India. For us L&T is a very strong partner and if we find a common ground we will definitely go with L&T, who are our first choice in India”, said Mr. Dahlberg.
Scania has appointed Mr. Henrik Fagrenius as Country Manager for India since August 2010. Henrik has been with Scania for over 14 years and has been Head of International Fleet sales and Dealer management in Frankfurt.Mr. Henrik says: “My primary responsibility is to develop the Indian market for Scania vehicles. We will, together with our partner L&T, look into the business we have currently for the 8X4 and we will also look into the other segments. We have learnt a lot and appreciate our partnership with L&T. My responsibility is to investigate what the next step should be for Scania in India”.
Scania is currently operating in the top end or the premium range in the Indian tipper market. It is typically dominated by the European brands like Volvo and Daimler.
Globally, Scania trucks are positioned in the premium segment of the market. Although the initial investment is high, the total cost of ownership is much better than other trucks. “We are looking into segment like mining where we have sophisticated customers who appreciate this approach”, says Henrik.
India is a quick developing market. With the growth in infrastructure, the average speeds will increase and that’s when our products will become more interesting in the Indian market, says Henrik.
Scania is also looking at opportunities in the Indian bus market.
