Sundaram Finance in early stages of upcycle in commercial vehicle sector, says MD

Past two quarters, commercial vehicles have certainly been on the upcycle and Rajiv Lochan, Managing Director at Sundaram Finance expects this to continue going forward. “We are probably at the early stages of the upcycle, which over the next two or three years, we should expect to sustain and continue,” he said.

Generally, when a CV upcycle starts, it lasts for about two-three years. He believes, the mood is positive during the festive season. There has been significant movement in different sub-segments of the CVs over the last quarter.

School buses and staff buses space is seeing buoyancy. Replacement demand across all segments and goods and services tax (GST) related buying from some of the larger fleet operators have planned for and executed are the main drivers for the growth.

Asset quality has been improving on quarter on quarter basis. “We have seen consistent improvements in our own asset quality over the last four-six quarters and that trend is holding up quite well,” he said.

The company intends to focus more on market share. “Our ambition is to retain our market share particularly in the medium and heavy commercial segment and in the retail commercial segment,” he said.

The company also plans to return to the pre-COVID margin levels.