Daikin hiked prices in January as raw material prices went up, but added some new features to its products for new star ratings. Consequently, for various models of split room ACs, prices soared by around 7-10% compared with last year. It has launched a new range of split room ACs for Indian consumers to avail ecofriendly air-conditioning solutions.
After two years of dull sales due to the pandemic and the lockdowns, major air-conditioner manufacturers expect demand to be back this summer season, leading to double-digit sales growth. Some price hikes may also come by as cost of key inputs have increased.
“The AC industry is hoping to leave the impact of the pandemic behind, cashing in on pent-up demand. Sales at the industry level may grow about 15% in 2022-23 from 2019-20. Daikin will likely record even higher sales growth of about 20-25%,” Daikin India MD and CEO Kanwaljeet Jawa said.
Daikin hiked prices in January as raw material prices went up, but added some new features to its products for new star ratings. Consequently, for various models of split room ACs, prices soared by around 7-10% compared with last year. It has launched a new range of split room ACs for Indian consumers to avail ecofriendly air-conditioning solutions.
“Customers have already experienced price increases for other home appliances like refrigerators and washing machines. So, the customers are prepared for this kind of an increase in prices for ACs as well. customer footfalls are already there at the stores,” Kuldeepak Virmani, director & senior vice-president, Daikin India, told FE.
According to Virmani, the costs of R&D have gone up for AC makers as the new energy label star rating is coming from July. “We are spending more on developing new models which are more energy-efficient. These are mainly inverter ACs. Due to the new energy label star ratings, around 5% of the cost has risen per product. We are absorbing 50% of this and passing on the rest to customers,” he said.
According to B Thiagarajan, MD, Blue Starcompared with 2019 summer the residential AC industry would grow by 20% this summer due to pent-up demand and anticipated heatwave conditions.
“For two summer seasons due to Covid, people did not buy ACs and the temperatures are soaring. The company would be definitely growing faster than the industry this summer. I think we will be growing by 25%,” he said.
Blue Star has a market share of 13.25% in residential AC segment and is targeting to move to 14% this year. To achieve that, Thiagarajan said the first thing one needs to have is affordable product range — the total of which now stands at 110.
He hinted that the company may hike prices going ahead as prices of key inputs like copper, aluminum and steel have gone up.
“We will do a review by mid-April to see if we need to take a price hike,” he said.
Panasonic India CEO Manish Sharma said ahead of summers, the company is witnessing a rise in demand for smart ACs that offer healthier indoor air quality. He said the AC industry is expected to see a growth in double digits in summer.
“In fact, capitalising on higher inverter AC sales, Panasonic India’s AC division across the country registered an impressive sales growth of nearly 45% in FY21,” Sharma said. To ensure the growth momentum, Panasonic has recently introduced its latest marketing campaign — ‘AC for Healthier Homes’.