Tata Hitachi to indigenously develop electric excavator: MD

The push towards electric vehicles has made its presence felt in the realm of public transport, with more of these bikes, cars and buses hitting the Indian roads. However, this endeavour has left the heavy machinery and construction equipment sector largely untouched. Against this backdrop, Tata Hitachi Construction Co Pvt Ltd’s  managing director, Sandeep Singh tells DH’s Gyanendra Keshri of his company’s baby step in the direction of greening its sector, with India’s first indigenously produced electric excavator. He also delves into the impact of the upcoming general elections on infrastructure development in the country. 

Edited excerpts.

Elections are known to disrupt the pace of infrastructure development. How do you see the upcoming Lok Sabha elections impacting action on the ground and your sector?

Normally, two months prior to election and two months after election there is a slowdown in construction activities. However, in the coming few months the pace will go up as the government would like to finish most of the projects that they have announced. So for the current financial year, we are bullish. Some parts of March may be impacted if elections are conducted as per schedule. The impact of the four months of slowdown will be felt mostly in the next financial year. This year we are looking at good growth.  

What kind of growth are you expecting for the construction equipment sector this fiscal? 

Last financial year, India’s construction equipment sale crossed one lakh mark in terms of volume. This year we are looking at an average 12-13% growth. For Tata Hitachi we are looking at 8-10% growth, because some of the equipment we don’t manufacture. On a value term we are looking at 12-13% growth at Tata Hitachi. I am talking about the domestic market. Some of the manufacturers in construction equipment have substantial exports. If you add the exports number, the growth will be much higher. 

What is the outlook for exports?

We are mainly exporting to SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries, Middle East and African countries. In Africa, it’s mainly to North West and East Africa. We are expecting increased focus on exports when there is low domestic demand due to the election. However, in the case of Tata Hitachi the export numbers are not very significant, because we have our plants across the world, we have our distribution channels across the world. 

While road transport is increasingly leaning towards green energy, how has the construction equipment segment moved in this direction?

We are working on futuristic technology. Tata Hitachi is the first company in India to develop electric excavators. We will showcase a prototype of an electric mini excavator at Excon 2023 event to be held in Bengaluru from 12-16 December. We will take decisions on commercial production depending on the response from customers and dealers. We will also have to go through a test cycle and approval from our parent company Hitachi Construction Machinery.