Amid the scorching heat in many states of the country including Delhi-NCR, the sale of air conditioners (AC) has almost doubled in May. There is a huge shortage of energy saving ACs in the market and manufacturers are also struggling with this. Apart from this, manufacturers are also facing problems in installing ACs due to the increasing demand.
According to a PTI report, the mercury is above 45-47 degrees in many cities including the national capital Delhi. At the same time, AC manufacturers are dealing with extraordinary demand and the best ever sales have been recorded in the month of May.
AC sales have doubled
Major brands like Voltas, LG, Daikin, Panasonic and Blue Star witnessed strong sales in May and the industry expects an overall growth of 30 to 35% in their sales in 2024 compared to last year.
Voltas MD and CEO Pradeep Bakshi said that the company’s domestic AC sales have doubled in May. It is expected that positive growth will continue in the remaining period of April-June quarter.
He told news agency PTI, ‘Voltas’ sales have increased significantly in May. This is a spectacular growth of 100% compared to the same period last year. This milestone is particularly important because May is historically one of the highest contributing months to the AC and cooling products industry.’
The Tata Group company expects to sell 20 lakh units of ACs within the first half of this calendar year (Jan-Jun 2024).
5 year old record broken
LG Electronics India said it is witnessing “rapid growth” in the domestic AC business with “multi-fold growth in demand” surpassing the last five-year record.
Blue Star MD B Thiagarajan said that the domestic AC industry had grown by 40% in March this year. There was a possibility that there would be some fluctuations in the market due to the general elections in May, but this did not happen.
According to Thyagarajan, this is a ‘Golden Age’ for the industry, with growth expected over 35% by 2024.
The challenge is to supply according to demand
Daikin India Chairman and MD Kanwaljeet Jawa said, “The challenge in the market is how many units you can produce and supply. This is an absolute challenge.”
According to Java, Daikin’s sales in May were 60 to 70% higher than last year and the company expects 35 to 40% growth in the first quarter of the current financial year (2024-25).
He said that in May last year, sales were slow due to rains in some parts of the country.
Popularity of 5-star inverter AC increased
Similarly, Panasonic India has also registered good growth in the AC category this summer. Abhishek Verma, Business Head, Air Conditioners Group, Panasonic Life Solutions India, said, ‘In the month of May, we have registered the highest ever growth of 52% in sales compared to last year.’ The company said that the popularity of 5-star inverter ACs has increased. 55% of the online AC sales are 5-star inverter ACs.
prices may increase
Kanwaljeet Java has also warned about the industry increasing the prices. The price of copper has increased a lot in the global market and companies can pass on this burden to the customers. Copper is an important component in AC making.
According to Tyagarajan, there is a possibility of early rains in June, which may slow down sales. He said, ‘Apart from this, the Chinese market has come back in form, so the prices of raw materials are also increasing significantly.’
