“As infrastructure programmes scale up, we expect stronger visibility across our equipment categories. The coming year will also mark a deeper move towards digital ecosystems, with remote diagnostics, predictive analytics and telematics enhancing utilization and lifecycle management.” Vyom Agarwal, President, ACE-Action Construction Equipment
For the construction equipment sector, 2025 unfolded as a year of tempered business activity. Extended rains across several regions, combined with the industry’s shift to Stage V emission norms, slowed equipment deployment and stretched out customer decision cycles. Early-year pre-buying and a cautious pace of adopting newer technologies added to the moderated market rhythm, while global volatility and higher cost of equipment influenced customer’s decisions across the value chain.
Yet, at ACE, we see 2026 signal a broad revival in demand through growing traction in private capex, export-led opportunities, expansion in defence applications and public expenditure flowing into airports, railways and freight corridors. Additionally, policy impetus, GST reforms, softer interest-rate conditions, and an improved liquidity environment will play an important role in supporting demand and strengthening industry confidence. As infrastructure programmes scale up, we expect stronger visibility across our equipment categories. The coming year will also mark a deeper move towards digital ecosystems, with remote diagnostics, predictive analytics and telematics enhancing utilisation and lifecycle management.
To strengthen this momentum, we encourage the government to consider imposition of safeguard or anti-dumping duties on Chinese crawler excavators and tower cranes to ensure a fair and level playing field for domestic manufacturers. These interventions will be pivotal in boosting competitiveness and positioning the CE industry as a core enabler of India’s infrastructure aspirations in 2026 and beyond.
The author is Vyom Agarwal, President, ACE-Action Construction Equipment
