Domestic CV OEMs Master Heavy-Duty Physics for India's Booming Infra Projects

The deepening alliance between commercial vehicle and construction equipment OEMs is turning a corner as domestic chassis and engines prove they have the muscle to support global-scale machinery.

For years, the sight of a massive boom pump, the spindly, mechanical arms used to pour concrete at dizzying heights, meant one thing to an automotive observer: an imported chassis. The extreme weight and stability requirements of these mega-machines often exceeded the engineering specifications of domestic truck frames. However, at the latest Excon gathering, a 56-meter boom pump standing tall on a homegrown Tata chassis signaled the ongoing evolution that is taking place in Indian automotive engineering. 

Historically, the skeletal frames, or chassis, required to support the shifting weight of such a long reach had to be specialized or sourced from overseas. The increasing absorption of such equipment on an indigenously produced frame marks an important milestone in "right-sizing" Indian vehicles, suggesting that domestic OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) have moved beyond simple haulage to mastering the complex physics of heavy-duty stability.

V.G. Sakthikumar, Chairman and Managing Director of Schwing Stetter India, views this as a sign of the market’s maturity. “In the past, the chassis requirement was [different] for a product like this,” Sakthikumar noted, adding that with this localization, it will become a more common size in the future.

A boom pump is a specialized truck with a multi-section robotic arm used to efficiently and accurately place liquid concrete in hard-to-reach areas of construction sites, such as high-rises, bridges, and other taller projects, thereby saving up significantly on time, money, and labour on the large infrastructure projects. Ashok Leyland and Eicher, apart from Tata and BharatBenz are some of the leading chassis dominating the large boom pump market in India. 

Schwing Stetter India unveiled more than 20 new construction equipment products at Excon 2025. The launches included a fully electric truck mixer, the first CNG mixer variant, and a hybrid boom pump, among others. The management added that the launches were to address India's demand for faster, greener, and taller infrastructure through advanced engineering, clean energy solutions, and circular materials. In addition to the machinery launches, Schwing Stetter India introduced precast technology in collaboration with MAXtruder GmbH, along with new crusher solutions for aggregate production and construction waste recycling.

Schwing Stetter India, which began manufacturing operations in 1999, produces concrete batching plants, pumps, mixers, and recycling equipment. The parent company operates manufacturing units in 12 countries with a sales presence in over 150 countries worldwide.

A Symbiotic Strain

While the engineering partnership is deepening, it is not without its growing pains. The automotive and construction sectors are now so tightly linked that a hiccup in one creates a bottleneck in the other. Earlier this year, the construction industry saw a slowdown in concrete equipment dispatches, partly due to automotive regulatory shifts.

As per industry captains, last year there were issues with the chassis manufacturer in the middle of the year, which related to AC cabin regulations. The delay in truck manufacturers ramping up production of compliant cabins meant that mixers and pumps had no platforms to be mounted on, demonstrating how closely the construction industry’s fortunes are tied to the automotive supply chain.

The Blade Battery’s Heavy-Duty Ambition

The electrification of the heavy-duty construction sector hinges less on the novelty of the motor and more on the chemistry of the cell. Schwing Stetter India, during the same event, also announced collaboration with Qucev Technologies for a battery electric transit concrete mixer (eRMC). The partnership's foray into zero-emission mixing is the adoption of the "blade battery," a patented form factor developed by the Chinese auto major BYD that claims to solve the twin headaches of energy density and thermal safety that have long dogged large-scale lithium-ion applications. This technology, already a staple in passenger cars and buses, is now being repurposed for the grueling, high-torque duty cycles of concrete transit, with an expected operational lifespan of six to eight years.

Highlighting the strategic choice of this specific battery architecture, NK Rawal, MD & CEO, Qucev Technologies, noted that the blade battery’s design is intended to ensure safety as well as a higher battery density level, providing the necessary muscle for a seven-cubic-meter vehicle to operate seamlessly in dense city centers where emission norms are increasingly becoming a barrier to entry.

Despite a currently flat or slightly negative market dampened by an extended monsoon, the outlook for 2025 remains optimistic, with a projected growth rate of roughly 6%. As infrastructure projects demand taller structures and faster completion times, the need for high-reach equipment will only grow.