Business Reporter
THE rising summer temperatures
are expected to boost the
demand for air conditioners
thisseason.The Meteorological
Department has forcast higher
temperatures due to which
traders are expecting better
demand for air conditioners as
compared to last year. “The
demand for air conditioners is
expected to remain strong this
season. Already demand has
picked up from the month of
March. We are anticipating a
rise in demand of more than
35 per cent compared to last
year,” said NiharTaori, Director
of Taori Marketing situated at
Dharampeth while speaking to
The Hitavada.
Taori further said that most
of the manufacturers have
introduced new features like
Wi-Fi, Smart features like auto
cleaning,mosquitoaway,airfilters,
gas changing features and
extended warranty schemeson
compressors to attract the customers.
The most sought after
air conditioner brands are
Mitsubishi, Voltas, LG,
Panasonic,Carrier,Hairer,Blue
Star, Daikin, Hitachi, Godrej, O
General etc.
The most preferred air conditioners
are the 1 tonne and
1.5 tonne. There are also 3 Star
and 5 Star energy saving category
air conditioners.The price
range starts from Rs 28,000 to
Rs 40,000 for the medium segment
range. The premium
range begins from Rs 40,000 to
Rs Rs 60,000. In Vidarbha,
80,000 to 85,000 units are sold
out of which 50 per cent are
sold in Nagpur during the year,
he added.
Another leading AC dealer,
Gaurav Pahwa, Director of
Lotus Electronics said that his
stores are expecting a minimum
growth in demand of 25
per cent compared to the previous
year. The demand for air
conditioners started to increase
from March. “We are expecting
the hot weather conditions
to continue resulting in huge
growth in demand,” he said.
Another important factor
which is pushing demand for
air conditioners (ACs) are the
flexible finance schemes introduced
by consumer finance
companies.
These companies
have made it easier for consumers
to buy ACs by offering
zerodown payment, zero interest and extended EMI schemes.
Similarly, banks are giving
cash back offers of 10 per cent
on credit cards with EMI. He
saidthatconsumerpreferences
have shifted more towards air
conditioners with 5 Star rating
to conserve energy and lower
energy bills.
According to Jaipraksh
Jaiswal, Director of Vedoms,
Dharamepth the demand for
air conditioners has swelled by
25 per cent as compared to the
previous year.
“The overall response for air
conditioners is tremendous
this year.There has been a shift
in consumer spending. Many
consumers are upgrading their
old air conditioners and buying
ones equipped with latest
technology,” he added.