With the increasing advancements in manufacturing applications causing more demand for automation solutions across multiple sectors, IPF takes a tour in the market of motors and drives.

The Indian electric motors market is driven by growing awareness towards energy conservation, surging acceptance of electric vehicles, and improving industrial infrastructure in the country. The market is further fueled by growing HVAC industry, rapid urbanisation, and stringent regulations toward power consumption. Electric motors are attributable to nearly 30% of the power consumption in the industries. Manufacturers are continuously coming up with product innovation and improved technologies in motor drives. Energy efficient motor is the upcoming trend in the electric motors market.

According to 6Wresearch, India electric motors market is projected to grow at a CAGR over 6% during 2017-23. AC motors segment captured majority of the revenue share and are projected to dominate during the forecast period. Among voltage levels, low voltage motors segment contributes majority revenue share, however, with growing usage in industrial segment, medium voltage is projected to exhibit highest growth over the coming years.

Gear motors trajectory

The gear motors market is projected to grow to USD 23.94 billion by 2021, registering a CAGR of 5.8% till 2021. The increasing demand for power transmission equipment in industries, growing concerns regarding efficient power transmission, and increasing infrastructural development in developing regions are driving the global market for gear motors.

Wind power is the largest end-use industry for gear motors, due to the large-scale application of speed-up gearboxes in wind turbines. Material handling and food & beverage are other major end-user industries that employ gear motors. The wind power segment of the gear motors market is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The report segments the geared motors market on the basis of end-user industries into metals & mining, cement & aggregates, automotive, power generation (excluding wind power), construction, chemicals, rubber & plastics, marine, and other industries.

Motors rated up to 7.5 kW are estimated to constitute the largest segment of the gear motors market, owing to the large number of applications that fall within this segment. Most major applications in industries such as material handling, food & beverage, and automotive employ motors rated within this range.

Asia-Pacific is estimated to be the largest market for gear motors, with China expected to lead the market in terms of growth rate from 2017 to 2021. The increasing investments in renewable energy, especially wind power generation, and industrialisation in countries such as China, Japan, and India propels the growth of the market in the region. The gear motors industry is expanding in India, owing to rising industrialisation and infrastructural development activities. Increasing wind power installations and the low cost and compact nature of the equipment are major factors driving the global gear motors market.

Motor drives segment know-how

The Indian AC electric drives market is entering a growth phase with escalating energy prices leading to a need for energy and operational-efficient motor control systems and drives. End-user awareness of additional drive benefits such as minimised maintenance requirements, improved process control performance, and enhanced motor and equipment life are factors fueling adoption. To gain market share, drive manufacturers must increase the reliability of their products to improve energy efficiencies and prevent downtime, while automation companies should enlarge their value proposition to end users and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

“With the cost of energy and power expected to increase, energy-intensive end users such as metal, cement and power, and other OEMs are adopting variable frequency drives (VFD) to optimise the utilisation of energy and reduce the overall cost of production,” said Kalpana Singh, Consulting Analyst, Industrial Automation & Process Control Practice, Frost & Sullivan. “This trend is expected to spark huge opportunities in upgrading and retrofitting drives across multiple industries.”

The Indian electric AC drives market is expected to register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.5% through CY 2021. “On the flip side, budgetary constraints, high implementation costs, and low awareness of additional benefits of VFD in tier 3 and small and medium segments are trends restraining demand for electrical drives in India,” noted Singh.

Developments driving growth in the Indian electric AC drives market include:

• Increasing demand for LV AC drives in non-traditional industries like plastics, marine, water and wastewater, and food and beverage.

• LV market trends toward motor-drive combo packages, industry-specific drives, and diversification of product portfolios.

• Building channel partner relationships to increase reach to end users.

• Widening application areas, energy-efficiency norms issued by the Government of India, and end users’ voluntary investment.

• Recovery in key segments such as construction, automotive, and manufacturing.

Servo drives/motors market share pie

The rising advancements in manufacturing applications coupled with increasing demand for automation solutions across the country are driving the demand for servo motors and drives in India. Further, adoption of energy-efficient standards and increasing demand for higher productivity has further fueled the market growth of servo motors and drives in the country. According to 6Wresearch, India Servo Motors and Drives market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 9.2% during 2017-23. In terms of market revenues, AC servo motors and drives segment captured major share of the market. Further, during the forecast period, linear servo motors segment is expected to register highest growth on account of rising implementation of straight line motion solutions across various applications.

The Computerised Numerical Controllers (CNC) application accounts for the largest revenue share in the country, followed by motion control application. Some of the major companies in India Servo Motors and Drives market includes Panasonic, Delta Electronics, Fuji Electric, Mitsubishi Electric, ABB, Schneider Electric, Bosch Rexroth, Siemens, and Rockwell Automation.

Courtesy: 6Wresearch, Frost & Sullivan, MarketsandMarkets