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.