NEW DELHI: As temperatures in many parts of the country are soaring, so is the demand for air conditioners. Industry players like Panasonic, Voltas, Hitachi are expecting a 20-30% y-o-y growth this summer season due to pent up demand owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and buoyant summer.
The industry has seen 6-8% hike over the last one year owing to rise in prices of imports, raw materials, fuel, etc., but the price hikes have not subdued the consumer sentiment. Panasonic India in March this year has seen a record growth of nearly 25% as compared to March 2021, in terms of value, according to Gaurav Sah, Business Head, Air Conditioners Group, Panasonic India. He says, “This year, we are expecting robust sales from all regions. We are hoping to see an overall 30% growth this summer for ACs over last year.”
A Voltas spokesperson said, there is a big surge for replacement since a lot of consumers are upgrading their cooling products for more energy efficiency. “We are fully geared up for the year and anticipate that IMD’s prediction of a hot summer would see a pickup in demand for cooling products across the country.”
Hitachi is aiming for over 20% growth in FY 22-23 (over 2019) in the Indian market and is optimistic about achieving sales of approximately `1,500 crore during the peak season.
Gurmeet Singh, Chairman, and MD, Johnson Controls-Hitachi AC India says he is upbeat about the demand for air conditioners this season due to various market dynamics like pent-up demand, predicted heatwaves, an expected long summer season and positive consumer sentiment. According to B2B portal Trade India, there has been a month-on-month growth of 50% in Air Cooler & 48% in AC respectively. In yearly comparison, there is a growth of 10.25% in demand for Air Coolers and 14% for ACs.
“In some regions, summer has come early this year due to which we have seen a huge spike. There has been a trend of second AC in semi-urban and rural markets,” Avneet Singh Marwah, CEO SPPL, an exclusive brand licensee of Thomson India said.