18 | AutoPartsAsia | AUGUST 2017
believe customers here are getting
more professional and demanding
with high expectations from
manufacturers. Meeting all these and
adapting to local situations is part of
our core competence as a European
truck maker.
Q: What is in store for the next five
years?
A: We don’t have any intention now
to increase capacity as we have
to utilise fully the existing capacity.
Gaining market share, increasing
volumes, expanding portfolio both in
products and services, extending the
dealer network and getting closer to
customers are our priority areas.
Q: India is a different market from
the point of view of emission
regulations; we are leapfrogging
from BS-IV to BS-VI with new
technologies coming in. European
OEMs are finding it difficult to catch
up with this situation. How do you
view this and how are you going to
address it?
A: Development and technology
must bring benefits to the customer,
otherwise he will not pay. The market
and legal environment must attract
him, give him additional profit and
make his business easier. This is
the challenge to ensure that the
business environment here is built
up to accept technologies from the
European market. Of course we have
to make it all cost competitive, so
localisation will be a primary concern.
We are looking at partnerships
with our vendors; we have to do it
together. You can’t make a truck
alone – you need a strong supplier
base. We also have to look into after-
sales, service, cost of optimisation,
maintenance contracts, and total cost
of ownership i.e. rupee/km. We make
our product keeping in mind our
social responsibility to society; we will
make eco-and- environment-friendly
products taking into account safety
and ecological aspects so as to bring
maximum benefits to the customer
and comfort to the driver.
Q: The supply chain is the key;
emission standards are another
challenge. There is a lot of churn
in the Indian CV industry with new
technologies coming in; unless it
makes sense to the end-user it will
not be accepted. So where do you
see the sweet spot for MAN in this
scenario?A: First and foremost from the
customer point of view is fuel
economy. Our BS-IV engines with
250/300 HP are known for their
fuel economy, giving the customer
immediate benefit on his investment.
There are also other elements like
suspended seats, air-conditioning,
ergonomically designed cabins that
all contribute to driver comfort. In
addition, we want to optimise the gear
box but have to balance it with cost
to customer, so it will take some time.
Also, reduce vehicle weight by, for
example, using a banjo suspension,
to increase the payload.
Q: The single piston air disc brake
is lighter. What’s your thought?A: Air disc brakes will ultimately come
to the Indian market but customers
here are a bit conservative so itmight take some time to replace the
drum brake. Customers perceive
the drum brake to be less costly
with low maintenance though that’s
not really true. I personally prefer air
suspensions, even on a truck. It can
be easily done but you must first get
customers to go for it, they must be
convinced.Q: I agree with you, however,
unless you bring in some radical
change to convince the customer,
it will be difficult for an MNC to
operate in a country like India. In
which case what radical steps will
you take to convince the customer?
A: Radical is a strong word, it reminds
me of revolution. I prefer evolution
because it takes time to convince the
customer and show him the possible
advantages. From the technical
point of view we can always produce
something different but at the end of
the day it has to be sold. I personally
don’t believe in disruption of today’s
business, as is done in the IT sector
where disruption is the norm. A
steady evolution, pointing out to the
customer the benefits he can get from
a permanent, sustainable process
that would not only optimise his
products but also help in its future
development is what is required.
Q: So uptime will be your key
parameter, the USP for selling your
product?A: Yes, that’s what counts for all
customers.Q: When you want to increase the
uptime, you need to have certain
implements like sub-assemblies
and consumables to match your
intent. Since volumes are less for
you, there will always be resistance
from vendors to support you,
and you cannot import as it will
increase cost. So you are actually
pulled apart in different directions;
how do you manage?A: It’s the chicken and egg concept.