India’s Construction Equipment Market May Reach 250,000-300,000 Units by 2035: Dimitrov Krishnan

India is currently the world’s third-largest construction equipment market, according to Dimitrov Krishnan, Managing Director, Volvo Construction Equipment India. Speaking to Elctrik at BAUMA CONEXPO 2026, Krishnan said the country reached the third position in 2018 after surpassing Japan.

The Indian construction equipment market currently stands at around 140,000 units in production and sales. Krishnan said the industry expects the market to reach around 250,000-300,000 units by 2035. “From 140,000 to maybe about 250,000 to 300,000 units by 2035 or so. That’s our estimate and that’s the industry estimate as well,” he said.

Volvo CE’s Focus Areas in India

Volvo CE operates across several construction equipment categories, including excavators, wheel loaders and compaction equipment. Its excavator portfolio covers both construction and mining applications, while its wheel loaders are used across mining and construction.

Krishnan said the company is working on India-centric products through its R&D centre in Bengaluru. The products are being developed around Indian operating conditions, customer requirements and cost considerations. The company plans to focus on excavators, wheel loaders and compaction equipment, while also looking to introduce hauling equipment such as dumpers.

Mining and Construction Equipment

According to Krishnan, mining remains a major segment for Volvo CE in India, particularly for large excavators and wheel loaders. For construction and infrastructure applications, the company offers excavators across different weight categories, including the 20-ton and 30-ton classes. Its EC380 is used in quarrying and mining applications, including marble mining. The company also offers wheel loaders such as the L90 and L120. The L120 also has an electric version, the JL120, which uses a 280 kWh battery.

Electric Equipment and Pay-Per-Use Model

Krishnan said electric construction equipment is seeing demand from customers looking to reduce exposure to fuel costs. The JL120 electric wheel loader can operate for around six to eight hours, depending on the application, according to the company.

Volvo CE is also offering an operating model where customers can pay based on machine usage rather than purchasing the equipment. Contracts can be structured for one, three or four years. Krishnan said this model is also being considered by customers that want to gain experience with electric construction equipment before purchasing it.

Localisation Levels Across Products

Localisation varies across Volvo CE’s product portfolio in India. Krishnan said localisation for compaction equipment is as high as 90%. For excavators such as the EC210 and EC215, the level is around 60-65%, while the EC300 has around 55% localisation. The company’s Bengaluru plant produces around 75% of the products it sells in India, with average localisation across its portfolio at about 70%, according to Krishnan.

Component Supply Chain Remains a Challenge

Krishnan said increasing localisation of larger construction equipment and electric machines will depend on the availability of components in India. According to him, manufacturers can localise structural components, but several other systems, including batteries, electronic components and hydraulic components, are not available at the required scale from domestic suppliers.

“The key challenge for localisation in larger excavators and larger products or even electric is that the supply chain is not ready,” Krishnan said. He said the company is working with the government and industry bodies on increasing component-level localisation.

Government Support for Local Manufacturing

Krishnan also referred to a construction and infrastructure equipment scheme announced in the Union Budget, which he said was yet to be notified at the time of the interview.

According to him, the proposed focus is on increasing localisation in products such as 30-ton excavators, large wheel loaders and dump trucks. He said localisation levels in some of these products could increase from around 25-30% to more than 50%.

Krishnan said the availability of domestic component manufacturers would be important for increasing local production and could also support exports from India.

Elctrik Speaks

In this conversation, Dimitrov Krishnan, Managing Director, Volvo Construction Equipment, discusses the growth of India’s construction equipment market, Volvo CE’s product strategy, electric construction equipment, localisation levels and the challenges around developing a domestic component supply chain.