Disruptions in the Commercial Vehicle Market may Drive Truck Sales in the Post-lockdown Period: Survey

TrucksDekho, a portal that provides information about trucks and commercial vehicle (CV) brands, has come out with a survey that reveals a significant portion of the people will go for truck purchases post-lockdown.

The survey — which the company claims to have done on 800 in-market audiences (lead droppers) of TruckDekho divided equally into four segments of products: mini truck (Tata Ace segment), pick-up (Mahindra Bolero), ILCV (intermediate & light commercial vehicle), M&HCV (medium & heavy commercial vehicle) — presents contrasting decision-maker trends that are possibly due to a factor of e-commerce and logistics disruptions in the CV industry.

About 85 per cent of customers are still willing to buy new CV products post-lockdown, whereas the remaining may have changed their decision to now consider a used truck, according to the findings of the survey.

While 75 per cent of CV buyers have delayed their truck purchases due to the nationwide lockdown, 35 per cent customers are presently willing to buy new trucks within a period of one-month after the lockdown is lifted.

Digital drive

The survey also claims that digital platforms are also gaining traction among the young decision-makers. A good portion of buyers, across segments, are now interested to book their next truck online.

“We get customer requests from the remotest parts of India. Earlier, the digital prospecting and lead generations would happen only around small commercial vehicle and the pick-up categories. The last year saw a strong uptick even in the higher tonnage categories which makes it imperative for OEMs to focus on digital transformations and augment their sales efforts by using innovative technology and communication solution,” said Manish Harodia, Chief Business Officer, TrucksDekho.

In the Post Covid-19 era, with physical roadshows being far and few in between, TrucksDekho foresees OEMs use digital medium for their product launches and to engage in virtual product expos in days to come. “A measurability on digital also makes the proposition compelling as there is tangible ROI on any investment made,” said Harodia