In Chandigarh, to inaugurate a new upgraded branch office for better channel partner and customer connect, the air conditioning and refrigeration veteran says brands not providing satisfactory customer care services will struggle for survival
Daikin, the air-conditioning market leader in India with 20% market share (its turnover in the country hit Rs 10,500 crore in the last financial year, the highest by a company in the air conditioning business), is highly customer focussed, he asserts
Eyes 25% market share in Punjab & Haryana in next 12 months, and Rs 1000 crore revenue from the two states this year
It makes greater sense to buy a hot and cold star-rated smart inverter split air conditioner. Coming at a price differential of around Rs 3500 over a matching cooling-only inverter air conditioner, it is real value for money as at that price gap you cannot even buy a decent heater, and the energy you save due to superior heating technology is an additional bonus.
Coming from a veteran with decades in the air conditioning and refrigeration business, the advisory carries enormous weight.
In an exclusive conversation with your own news portal LifeInChandigarh.com on the sidelines of inauguration of Daikin’s new upgraded branch office in Chandigarh’s Industrial and Business Park, Phase 1, Daikin Airconditioning India Chairman and Managing Director Kanwal Jeet Jawa noted that the share of hot and cold room air conditioner variants in Daikin’s annual sales has leapfrogged to 20%.
In Chandigarh region, the brand’s hot and cold air conditioners displayed an even higher sales share in the April-June quarter of 2025, increasing to 35% of total sales of Daikin room inverter ACs during this period, interjected Ankit Gulati, General Manager & Operation Head for the Chandigarh and Karnal branch offices of Daikin.
Jawa claimed that Daikin being a research-oriented exclusive air conditioning and refrigeration company, and backwardly integrated at that, making its own refrigerants and compressors, etc, has been able to bring to all its markets products and solutions in residential, commercial, industrial and cold chain solutions segments with the very same advanced technology and superior quality as anywhere else.
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He said realising that it could not become a global leader in its field without aggressively addressing the Indian market, Daikin began to invest heavily in the country’s growth story from 2010, though it was present here since 2000.
The company which pioneered the introduction of the path-breaking R32 refrigerant in 2012 and the invertisation of air conditioners, has so far pumped in Rs 2800 crore in the Indian market, and is the highest investor in its field under the Production Related Incentive (PLI) scheme of the Government of India, he informed.
He further shared that the company has three global R&D centres, including an AI-IoT lab, in Neemrana (Rajasthan) and Hyderabad. It has 10 product-specific manufacturing facilities concentrated at Neemrana (Rajasthan) and Sri City (Andhra Pradesh), besides the Daikin Japanese Institute of Manufacturing Excellence (DJIME), an initiative jointly supported by the Japanese and Indian governments, at Neemrana (Rajasthan, which is committed to provide skill development for increased employability to 1.5 lakh youth, he added.
Eyeing 25% sales growth in Punjab & Haryana in next 12 months
Kuldeepak Virmani, Senior Vice President & Executive Director, Daikin India, who was also present, added that “India is experiencing strong and sustained growth in the air conditioning and refrigeration business. The North market too has grown by over 30% last year, and Daikin India predicts it to be worth Rs 25,000 crores by end of FY 2025.
“In Punjab and Haryana specifically, with robust infrastructure and housing development, we are witnessing a high demand for smart and energy efficient air-conditioning solutions. To cash in on this increasing demand, Daikin is poised to accelerate its expansion across Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Jammu, adopting a more aggressive approach to strengthen its market presence.
“A host of new products are being launched, and our dealership network being extensively expanded. We are planning to invest heavily into marketing and promotions across Punjab & Haryana to secure a 25% market share in the next 12 months, and Rs 1000 crore revenue this year,” Virmani added.
Snapshots
- Daikin Global net sales: 32+ Billion US$
- Daikin India Turnover: 1.5+ Billion US$
- Sold 2 million room ACs in India last year
- Targeting a growth of at least 20% this year, eyeing sales of 2.5 million units
- 6.25 lakh units already sold in the April-June quarter of 2025
- Despite India’s growth story, the penetration f air conditioning in the country is still 7-9% as against 90% in the West
- 7 million customers connected to Daikin call centres in India
- 80% of room ACs being sold by Daikin in India are now invertor ACs
