Gurmeet Singh, MD, Johnson Controls, Hitachi Air Conditioning India ltd, talks to Sangeeta Yadav about the new Expandable Inverter ACs for extreme weather conditions and the new campaign
Tell us about Hitachi’s new range of energy-efficient air conditioners (AC)IJ
We’ve launched a new technology — Expandable Inverter ACs in the room air-conditioning segment. This will make your AC do more than what it is supposed to do. For instance, if it becomes very hot, a 1.5 ton AC can work to the capacity of 1.65 ton or a 2 ton AC can work up to 2.2-ton capacity. We’ve worked on its capacity-building. It also has a unique Dual Flow Expansion Technology (DFET) which makes it the most energy-efficient air conditioner.
You have also consolidated your range of tropical inverters in the new model.
The tropical inverters were launched keeping in mind the hot summer of Delhi when the temperature becomes so high that your AC doesn’t function properly. With tropical inverters, our ACs can operate up to 52ºC which is best for the ambient conditions of North India or the hot humidity of the coastal areas like Tamil Nadu and do on. This technology is not available anywhere as yet.
What about the places where there is no extreme weather conditionIJ
We are going to launch standard ACs as well where expandable is not required. It will have high safety and advanced features available in an affordable price range of Rs 29,990 of the 1-ton inverter. We have 102 AC models for different customers — entry level, aspirants or top notch. Everybody will be able to find one for them. Energy efficiency is at the forefront of everything that we do now. People are also willing to pay more for energy efficiency. Of the total ACs sold by us in 2016, 47 per cent had a 5-star. We sell 5-star rated ACs as the customer is buying them.
Are you also planning to launch a new campaignIJ
It is titled as Kabhi Kabhi Zada Ke liye Zada Nahi Dena Hota (You don’t have to pay more to get more). This will be launched soon.
What is the Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) technology which is growing by leaps and bounds in IndiaIJ
It has good growth opportunity in both commercial and residential segments. We have introduced Set Free ‘Sigma Series’ in VRF segment, which not only saves energy but also saves space and running cost. One ODU of VRF can provide efficient cooling for five IDUs.
What is Hitachi’s visionIJ
We aim to revolutionise the Indian AC industry to become India’s leading HVAC brand by 2021.
With more than 30 years of legacy in India, Hitachi has always aimed to develop energy-efficient ACs. The focus is to provide 5-star inverter ACs, which are one of the most energy-efficient and eco-friendly machines. The idea is that when a person is investing in an air conditioner, it should work in all weather conditions.
How has the WiFi technology made things convenientIJ
It is a very convenient technology as your AC can cool your room even before you enter your home. One can download the mobile app called the IConnect, connect it to the WiFi and operate up to four ACs through it. With the Internet of Things (IoT) coming in, the use of technology would become very very easy.
Tell us about the new Channel Development Management programme.
The programme addresses the big challenge of accessibility of Hitachi products in Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns. We realised this gap and Hitachi has expanded its reach from 4,000 centres in 2015 to 8,500 by the end of 2017. We are now working on adding 2,000 to it and make it to11,000 by 2018.