Sandeep Singh, Managing Director, Tata Hitachi; Masafumi Senzaki, the Representative Executive Officer, President & Executive Officer, and COO of Hitachi Construction Machinery, Japan; and Toshiki Onishi, Director, Tata Hitachi.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Hitachi Construction Machinery Company on Thursday (December 11, 2025) said global headwinds including new tariffs introduced by the Trump administration and the depreciation of the Indian rupee were underpinning its focus on the Indian construction equipment market.
Despite global uncertainties linked to tariffs and currency fluctuations, Hitachi executives said the company remained bullish in India as the country was positioned as a long-term growth engine thanks to quick growth in infrastructure, cost-effective manufacturing, sturdy supply chain and talent availability.
Masafumi Senzaki, President, Executive Officer and COO Hitachi Construction Machinery said India wasn’t just a high-growth market but a strategic base that would help the group navigate global uncertainties.
Speaking at a media round table here, Mr. Senzaki said, India was becoming the most important stabiliser in Hitachi’s global playbook. With the Tata–Hitachi joint venture dating back to 1982, the Indian operations now contribute the highest machine volumes for Hitachi, a leading excavator manufacturer.
Also speaking on the occasion, Sandeep Singh, Managing Director, Tata Hitachi said, rupee depreciation added pressure to import components, however he said the same currency trend has also opened up new export advantages. Tata Hitachi is a joint venture between Tata Motors (40%) and Japan’s Hitachi Construction Machinery (60%).
According to Mr. Singh, Tata Hitachi’s exports have nearly doubled from 300–350 machines last year to an estimated 500–600 units this year, with strong demand emerging from the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia.
The company’s plants at Dharwad and Kharagpur have achieved 65 to 80% localisation, significantly strengthening cost competitiveness, he added.
He also clarified that although the current export scale won’t fully offset higher import costs, Hitachi was seeing steady market expansion opportunities once India’s forthcoming excavator emission regulations aligned domestic products with global standards.
Mr. Singh also said India was also becoming an important base for advanced technologies in the construction equipment sector. While diesel remains the dominant fuel due to site conditions, electric solutions are gaining ground in mining. Hitachi has supplied electric dump trucks and cable-powered large excavators to Coal India and other operators, signalling a gradual shift towards cleaner energy options. he elaborated.
Responding to a query on skill development, he said Tata Hitachi offered training through its Kharagpur and Dharwad centres in partnership with various ITIs, other collaborations, apprenticeship programmes and Indo–Japan skill development initiatives. “These programmes are clearly building skill sets and a strong talent pipeline that supports industry requirements as well as demand for employment,’’ he said.
Published – December 11, 2025 11:00 pm IST
