AC manufacturers seek to cash in on India's scorching summer forecasts

NEW DELHI: India Meteorological Department's (IMD) forecast of a more than longer heatwave this summer, has given a reason to cheer for the air conditioner manufacturers. AC makers in India are ready with their stocks and are also launching a new range of summer appliances for the mass market.

Voltas achieved the highest ever AC sales in the just concluded year 2023-24. The company achieved over two million AC units during the year, with a volume growth of 35 per cent. The company attributed the sales growth to a consistent demand for cooling products during the year, among others.

Blue Star, another major in this space, this week launched a range of room ACs. The company noted that the market is witnessing significant demand owing to burgeoning middle-class consumers with higher disposable incomes. Also, with scorching heat room ACs are increasingly becoming more of a necessity than a luxury.

During the launch event in New Delhi, Blue Star said the company is experiencing demand from first-time buyers, especially in the Tier-2 Tier-3 and Tier-4 markets, as well as in the replacement market. B Thiagarajan, Managing Director, Blue Star, said that the market for room ACs is at its inflection point and is poised to grow exponentially over the next few years. "Industry estimates reckon that the market will be more than double by 2030. This represents a huge opportunity for us...," Thiagarajan said. On 2024 summer, he said the forthcoming season is going to be strong and he expected the demand for room ACs to be robust. Hitachi, another major player in the cooling space, introduced a smart range of ACs. The wi-fi-enabled ACs start at Rs 39,000 and will be available for consumers across all leading outlets and e-commerce platforms.

LKP Securities, a financial advisory company, noted that room AC demand across India has picked up now as the temperature has started going up across India. It said pricing has remained largely the same but the margins given to the dealers and distributors have come down. "Dealers/distributors are okay with that since there is an expectation of harsh summer, further backed by IMD report published on April 1 which stated that the summer months of April to June 2024 are likely to be hotter than usual across the country this year," the financial advisory firm said.

Talking specifically of North India, it said that the demand has surged since last week and more buying is seen which is expected to increase. In South India, too it said demand has been better compared to other regions as summer sets in much earlier there. IMD forecasts: Most parts of the country are likely to witness above normal maximum temperatures during April to June, with 10-20 days of heat waves expected in different parts, India Meteorological Department said recently. Many districts across India have already experienced heat wave conditions. The most prone areas to an increased heatwave are Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and North Karnataka followed by Rajasthan MP and north Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh. Heatwave is a condition of air temperature that becomes fatal to the human body when exposed. It is defined based on the temperature thresholds over a region in terms of actual temperature or its departure from normal temperature.