Hyundai introduces SMART Plus series’ The core of design focus is Fuel economy, reliable Hydraulics, Structures and Ergonomics

Is the construction equipment industry on the road to recovery post pandemic of Covid-19? Your views

Yes very much true. Experts have been indicating a V shape recovery and we are actually seeing that recovery happening. From July20 onwards the CE market TIV is gradually improving and it reached close to 2018 levels in last quarter of  calendar year 2020. The year beginning Jan21 has crossed all the barriers by registering a whopping all time high market TIV of over 2600+ and has taken all by a big surprise. The growth is coming  through major infra projects across country ,fueling the demand for Construction and Infrastructure Equipments. 

Hyundai Construction Equipment recently launched its upgraded series of excavators under the series name SMART PLUS. Describe more about the same

Innovation is the way of life at Hyundai and our R&D and TD departments collaborate with Global HQ at Korea to bring in the very best in Products/ Technology, including working for futuristic models. The core of design focus is Fuel economy, reliable Hydraulics ,Structures and Ergonomics.

Hyundai’s SMART PLUS Excavators Series is upgraded with powerful features that will add to Durability, Productivity, Efficiency and profits. Its all-new ECO MODE provides you with excellent fuel efficiency along with an innovative 7-inch MULTILINGUAL DIGITAL CLUSTER crafted to boost operator convenience and ensure a smooth performance. It is designed with a reinforced bucket linkage for increased durability, spacious cabin for high visibility, powerful air-conditioning system and an adjustable fully suspension seat for unmatched operator comfort and efficient operations for long running hours. Also crafted with a heavy-duty undercarriage that gives machine excellent stability across challenging terrains and hard excavation. Hyundai’s SMART Plus series’ s provides easy serviceability to ensure its performance remains unaffected over the life cycle.

‘Vision Plan 2030’ which was released by Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and MSMEs, recently. How will it propel the development of world-class infrastructure in the country? Your views.

Indian Construction Equipment Industry Vision Plan 2030 “Building the Nation” is aimed at building Cooperation, Coordination and Communication with all stakeholders to improve product quality, drive innovation, and make the CE industry globally competitive.

The Global and Indian Economy has been adversely affected in terms of demand, resources ,skill development and technological Innovation ,simply because the survival took higher priority over Growth. The Vision Plan 2030 , will set the direction and efforts towards creating sustained demand, stable operating ecosystem and building a strong foundation for technology and skilling –as the key pillars for the growth and development of the CE industry in India.

Key focus of “Vision Plan 2030” is to make India 2nd largest manufacturing country in the world and action-oriented plan for growing the CE industry by three times the current size in the next 10 years. This will be key vision to make India a 5 Trillion-dollar economy. One of the major expectation from this is to make construction equipment more productive, cost effective and meeting global standards. Product quality along with cost competitiveness will surely enable the Indian CE industry to successfully participate in global export markets for construction equipment as well.

Development of Research & Development capabilities, Partnership for Technological Innovation with Global Research Centers and Labs , Development of Global skill set in India, Competitive and agile supply chains ,Efficient Logistics and Warehousing solutions ,Production Linked  Incentive mindset  of Manufacturing units etc are all going to be nurtured through implementation of Vision 2030 Plan and will surely make India the Fastest growing economy and one of the Top ranking CE Industry in the World. 

We recently had the Union budget FY 21-22, has the budget addressed the effectively. What were the hits and misses?

The Hits :

The budget is focused on India’s growth and is tailored to accelerate the growth rate. It is quite promising for overall construction equipment industry. The Budget focusses on making India Atmanirbhar by investing big on Infrastructure & manufacturing sectors. Government has proposed a sharp increase in capital expenditure at 5.54 lakh crore in 2021-2022, which is 35% more than the budget estimate of 2020-21. 1.18 Lac crore allotted for ministry of roads and 1.10 Lac crore for railways. Finance which was a biggest worry for us during Covid time and to overcome this hurdle Government will set up a new development finance institution called the “National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development”

The Misses:

The proposed tax reliefs completely bypass the tax paying working class and tax paying middle class. Tax on Provident Fund was a dampener. There is a need to increase allocation in social assistance programs and the quantum of transfers for local bodies.

Centralization of revenue by introduction of cess in petrol and diesel will weaken the Centre-state fiscal balance. Banks have to be made accountable to extend credit to farmers, women and MSMEs.

Farmers were looking forward to providing liberal – no interest loans.18% GST on Education and spending on Education reduced from Rs 99000 Cr to 93000 cr , which is surely going to impact this sector .

The challenges wrt Cost of steel and other raw materials, Logistics cost, Forex trends  continue to impact the Industries bottom line and remain a big challenge as we all tread in 2021.In spite of all this, the overall  construction equipment business looks promising & with expected GDP growth of 11% in FY21-22, we can expect good times for construction equipment industry in near future.  

Going forward what are the company’s business plans and projections for the future?

Through ingenious engineering, industry, and market understanding, Hyundai Construction Equipment powers construction, material handling, parts and Service operations with efficiency and excellence .We believe that by being creative and constantly striving to challenge ourselves, we can provide the highest-quality equipment and solutions in the marketplace.

Our goal has always been to go beyond meeting customer’s equipment needs and make their business more successful. Therefore, apart from expanding our product lines and dealer network, we are continually improving our quality and services. We know that our success depends on Customer’s success. So we constantly strive our best to keep advancing our Customers business and growth.

We have been working to come up with Future ready products & technologies, new lines of business , enhancing Machine Reman facilities, Dealer workshops across geographies to support our customers in remote areas ,Digital Platforms for Customers’ convenience.