We will emerge from the crisis stronger: DICV chief

The impact of Covid-19 on the automotive industry may be worrisome, but Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) is confident that it will overcome the crisis, according to the company’s MD & CEO Satyakam Arya. In an interview with Binita Jaiswal, Arya says that DICV’s innovative product line will help it strengthen its position in the domestic market in 2020. Excerpts:

How do you see the automobile markets behaving going forward?
The market was already very weak due to factors like new axle norms, GST, a liquidity crunch and BS-IV inventory corrections. The pandemic just worsened the situation. Commercial vehicles sales will definitely remain subdued. But if the government introduces measures like a scrappage policy and the economic stimulus package is implemented properly, the recovery could be faster.

How do you plan on dealing with this current crisis?
We are excited about the market. Sectors like construction, real estate, mining, e-commerce, highway activities will see a growth, induced by the stimulus package. Trucks and tippers used by these different sectors will definitely witness a boost in demand. Besides, a bounty harvest will generate better payload from rural areas too.  Our strong portfolio of construction vehicles and trucks used in e-commerce logistics could help us achieve a quicker revival in demand. We are looking to strengthen our position in the domestic market in 2020 as BS-VI technology is nothing new to us. We have 8-9 years of experience here which gives us an edge. We also export auto parts to many countries and we will continue to focus on that.

Despite the slump in demand, you have decided to invest Rs 2,277 crore into your TN plant...
We came to India with a long term plan. We are going ahead with our investment plans and leveraging important segments since it will help us emerge as a strong player once this crisis is over. Instead of focusing on capacity expansion, the fund will be utilised in introduction of new technologies, expansion of product portfolio, digitalisation and network expansion.

How does your product pipeline look like?
We are bringing a paradigm-shift in BS-VI inventory. We have just rolled out our first phase and are already far ahead of the competition... We have three more phases to go in the next one and half years where we will add predictive and pro-active maintenance features. At least 49 variants of BS-VI buses and trucks are ready.

Digitalisation has become the buzz word now...
We have already started adopting digital online services with our BharatBenz Proserv app. It offers our customers all the required services across a product’s lifecycle... such as advance booking, parts ordering, etc.