Air-conditioner manufacturers shortage of products or models due to unprecedented demand
Voltas, Daikin and Blue Star said there is a shortage of products or models in the industry, due to unprecedented demand amid the heatwave conditions prevailing for the past month and a half.
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With sales now picking up in the North, the shortage is expected to get worse. As per executives, the industry is going to face a notional sales loss of around 400,000-500,000 units, or Rs 1,200-1,500 crore of potential business.
The extended period of heatwave conditions since March-end in the South and East, and higher-than-average temperature in the West drove AC sales to a record level this year, taking the industry off guard as far as production planning for this summer was considered.
Component supplies have a lead time of almost two months and there are import restrictions on ACs and some of the components whereby companies said it is not possible to augment supplies.
“It’s a hand-to-mouth situation right now on stocks,” said Daikin India managing director KJ Jawa. “The market demand is much more than the production which was planned for summer. North has picked up in the last 10 days, while demand is still robust in South, West and East. Some companies are facing a shortage in certain models,” he said.
Voltas managing director Pradeep Bakshi said the industry could have sold at least 20% more had the stock been beefed up. «There are import restrictions and local contract manufacturers are not equipped to cater to this demand-supply mismatch,” he said.
