HERALD: What is the state of the commercial vehicle market in the country?
KAMAL BALI: I think the market has done very well in the last three to four years, especially the commercial vehicles, after hitting the first peak in 2011, the market went down dramatically around 2014, starting 2014 the market has picked up in a very sustained manner and hit a new peak in 2018 which was much higher than 2011. It has been growing and in the first nine months of this calendar year the market his up 38% compared to the same period last year. All the market signs are good, the demand drivers are solid especially construction, the road construction, mining sector. Lot of spends have happened and the road sector has done very well. Construction equipment has grown even higher which is linked to infrastructure development. That has been growing upwards of 20%. All in all, we are happy the way the market as developed and evolved over the last three years I would say.
HERALD: What about the drive towards electric vehicles in this segment?
KB: Electromobility going forward is going to be the key. It is a huge paradox, you will need more mobility as more people shift from rural to urban. On the other hand, fossil fuel has an effect on green house emissions. The challenge is how do you balance growth development and that is where alternate fuels which are carbon neutral will come into play. Electromobility is one of that, where electricity is produced in a cleaner way. In India we are talking of the methanol economy, this is being talk all over the world. It has to happen and it will happen. We are very clear that there has to be a balance of various fuels to what extent will you use the various options available to you. How fast will you bring in Euro 6 and BS6 emission norms so that you may have cleaner fuels available.
Miron Thoms: You have to also understand that we have to look at the sustainable set up. If we look at changing to electric then we also need an energy source. Today the energy source is all coal. We need to look at the complete chain of elements involved. If it is not done smartly then it will be all electric vehicles with a small diesel generator.
KB: It is a complex challenge and there are solutions to it. There is a sustainable way of doing it. It is not a one size will fit all, will have to use all tools in the box to solve it. More and more people must shift to public transport, more and more people must give up their four wheelers, how can we have more and more carbon friendly fuels. How do we do multi-nodal ways of transport. These are the various elements to this complex problem. Volvo group 17 years ago tested seven different fuels which could work on an IC engine. We need to create an eco-system. The government at the centre is very keen, very focussed, there is a huge amount of work going on in alternate fuels and I have to complement the Indian govt who I will say has been faster than many other governments.
HERALD: You have talked about investing Rs 2000 crore to enhance your facilities in India, please tell us what is happening on that score?
KB: We have been serial investors in India, we have been investing over the past 20 years, brought in a truck facility, construction equipment, we are now investing another Rs 400 crore in Bhopal in the Eicher JV. We have created seven different facilities in the last 20 years. Three in the legal entity of Volvo and four in our JV with Eicher.
HERALD: What are your plans for Goa?
KB: Goa is a very important market when it comes to Penta.
MT: We have a very strong partnership in Goa with Laurenco Marine which was established 20 years ago. A reliable and strong partner we supply electronic engines for barges. We do not believe in bringing over old European technology to India. We believe the specification relevant in Europe are relevant here too. Barge owners look at various parameters and we have provided European standards. In this industry there is no serial production where they build 1000’s of barges or 100’s of boats, it is built by order, our local partner ensures the barges are built as per European standards.
HERALD: Given that the mining industry was shut down, the barge industry collapsed for Goa so what then?
MT: The boat manufacturers have not stopped working , we have different products that our customers in Goa will need for different purposes for the entire coastline in India and even export.
HERALD: What prompted you to get involved with INSV Tarini?
MT: We accompanied them around the world because the boat was powered by our engines. Whenever they had issues like leakages of water, the navy contacted our partner over here and we prepared and sorted the issue out at the next harbour. Volvo Penta has a long history in the marine world and has accompanied the Volvo Ocean Race several times. With an experience of more than 100 years in marine segment the Volvo Penta D5 marine engine, powering the INSV Tarini.
