VECV reports bus sales rising, sees chip crisis easing in 3 months

Company betting on alternate fuels for growth in commercial vehicles sales, says senior executive

VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV) expects bus sales in India to grow to 60,000 units this financial year, up from 18,000 in 2021-22, said a senior executive of the Volvo Group and Eicher Motors joint venture company.

Vinod Aggarwal, managing director and chief executive officer of VECV, said the company is betting on alternate fuels like compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and electric.

Bus sales increased to 19,000 units in the first four months of 2022-23, compared to 18,000 for the pandemic-affected financial year 2021-22. “In 5 tonne and above, we are likely to see bus sales increase to 60,000 units during the current financial year,” Aggarwal said.

VECV’s Eicher brand trucks and buses saw sales increasing to 5,360 units in July this year, compared to 3,553 in July 2021. Out of this, Eicher-branded buses saw sales of 1,286 units. Volvo trucks and Volvo buses recorded sales of 121 units in July 2022, compared to 78 in July 2021 and posting an increase of 55 percent.

 “Things are becoming better as far as semiconductor shortage is concerned. Hopefully, it will be behind us in the next three months as global demand has cooled off,” he said.  

Volvo Buses India, a division of VECV, on Wednesday launched the Volvo 9600, which has factory-built sleeper and seater coaches. The seater coach has a passenger capacity of 55 and the sleeper version has 40 berths. “The goal of our bus division at VECV is to shape the future of the Indian bus industry, and to transform public mobility.  I am proud to present the Volvo 9600 which takes the next step in luxury, comfort, and safety - values that all of us associate with Volvo Buses,” Aggarwal said.

“The Volvo 9600 platform merges award-winning bus design, technology and manufacturing processes with our successful ‘Make-In-India’ journey. As the bus industry recovers from a very tough period, Bus Operators continue to count on us to deliver solutions that address the aspirations of inter-city passengers for safe, luxurious, and globally contemporary coaches,” said Akash Passey, president, bus division, VECV.