Volvo eyeing electric construction equipment market in India

Volvo, a major player in the construction equipment industry, is looking to expand in the electric segment due to growing demand from industries with high carbon emissions such as steel, cement, and ports. This is in order to meet their obligations to reduce emissions, stated Dimitrov Krishnan, Managing Director of Volvo Construction Equipment (CE), India Business.

Krishnan, who also serves as the Chairperson of the Infrastructure Equipment Sector Council (IESC), mentioned that the company has been providing electric machines through equipment-as-a-service, including high-voltage 600-volt system machines.

Krishnan explained that the government's tightening of emission regulations and safety standards, in line with the country's sustainability goals, is what is driving the adoption of electric equipment in the construction industry.

“Come 1st January 2025, new emission and safety regulations are coming into play on a large number of machines, which will make the product safer and more fuel efficient because of the emission norms. The last implementation was in 2022, and the next one is 2025. And so, we went from stage 3 to stage 4 in 2022, and now we are going to stage 5 in 2025,” Krishnan tells Business Today.

The electric products available in the Indian market include a wheel loader for carrying materials, excavators for digging, and grid-connected machines.

"In the next three to five years, you will see a variety of new electric products entering the market. We have noticed a trend among customers in industries focused on ESG and sustainability, such as cement, steel, and ports, as early adopters of this technology," he says. Additionally, all of them working with us have chosen the equipment as a service option.

India is number three in the world when it comes to the construction equipment industry and is expected to attract huge investments in years to come.

“There are very few countries that can generate the kind of market volume that India can generate. I think what we see today is that India is becoming a favoured destination for a lot of vendors who want to set up shop in a growing market like India. And we will continue to see a lot of new technologies coming up, particularly in the component space for construction equipment,” he further said.