New Delhi: Mahindra Construction Equipment (MCE) is looking to enhance its market share in the backhoe and motor grader segments this fiscal, a top company official said.
The entity, which sold a total of around 1,000 units last fiscal, is also looking to expand in the overseas markets.
"This fiscal we are anticipating the domestic construction equipment industry (backhoe loaders) to grow by 8-10 per cent over FY22 .. as a company, we are looking to increase our market share in the backhoe loaders from the current 2.5 per cent level," M&M Business Head - Commercial Vehicles Business Unit - Jalaj Gupta told PTI.
He noted that the backhoe loader segment de-grew by 28 per cent last fiscal as compared with FY21.
The segment saw a dip in sales in the 2021-22 fiscal as cost of machines went up due to the transition from BS-III norms to BS-IV with effect from April 1, 2021, he said.
"In the next 4-5 years, due to the various initiatives that the government is taking on infrastructure development, the broad outlook for the industry looks very positive," Gupta stated.
The dampeners for this growth could be a further increase in the acquisition cost due to upcoming migration from BS-IV emission norms to BS-V norms with effect from April 1, 2024, he noted.
Rise in fuel prices is also one of the major factors impacting the segment, Gupta noted.
The entity, a part of Mahindra Group, is also looking to become a leading player in the motor grader segment, he said.
MCE currently has a market share of 22 per cent in the segment.
Elaborating on exports, he said, "Overseas shipments currently account for 25 per cent of the total sales. We are looking at one of the three units we sell to go to export markets."
The company currently exports mainly to SAARC, Africa, Middle East regions.
MCE on Tuesday announced two guarantees for its BS-IV range of backhoe loaders.
"The guaranteed higher per litre productivity (or give back machine) promise is a landmark move in the construction equipment space. Given the spiraling fuel prices, there wasn't a better time to introduce this customer value proposition," Gupta said.
The company believes that it will reaffirm customers' faith in Mahindra's ability to create technologically advanced, class-leading products, he added.
Besides, the service uptime guarantee further reinforces the company's commitment to customers, Gupta said.
The company believes that such disruptive customer value propositions will help in its journey of becoming a formidable player in the construction equipment segment, he added.