Air Conditioner Sales Surge Amid Heatwave, Industry Predicts Over 50% Growth

Curry90

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posted on 6 months ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Companies are emergency-airlifting components from global suppliers from countries like China, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia and Japan.

The severe heat in the country has increased the demand for air conditioners by one and a half times. The situation is such that companies are now unable to meet the demand and have to airlift components from global suppliers from many countries. Due to record heat this year, the sale of air conditioners has reached record levels. In such a situation, AC manufacturers are importing components like compressors, cross-flow fans/motors and PCB circuits from abroad by air so that the increased demand can be met.

To maintain their production and supply chain, companies are emergency-airlifting components from global suppliers from countries like China, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia and Japan, as supply through traditional sea routes takes more time. Some companies have increased the prices of metals like copper and aluminium by up to four to five per cent, due to which passing on the price hike in metals to the customers.

Some companies said that even after purchasing the AC, it takes a week or more to install it in many places, as the existing service network is unable to handle new connections or service requests. Daikin Airconditioning India Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Kanwaljeet Jawa said to The Economic Times that the domestic AC industry has seen a growth of about 50 per cent in the last three months, which is much more than expected.

AC companies said that the industry does not have the support of such spare parts right now because there is not enough production in the country. Blue Star Managing Director B. Thiagarajan said in an interview to The Economic Times that the industry is ready for a growth of 25-30 per cent. No one had planned for a 70-80 per cent increase in demand. The scorching heat has increased the demand to such a level that it is not possible to meet the supply.

With the temperature rise, the prices of ACs are also increasing. Sources related to the industry said that within the last two weeks, the prices of ACs have increased by 8 per cent. The main reason for this is the demand as well as the cost of importing spare parts from abroad.