Vaccine drive unlocks new business prospects
Tata Motors has introduced a new range of refrigerated trucks for end-to-end vaccine transportation. V Seethapathi, Vice President, Product Line, I&LCV, Tata Motors talks about the new business opportunities for truck OEMs in India due to the vaccination
Q Could you please throw some light on the present scenario of the reefer trucks industry?
The Indian reefer trucks industry has witnessed a decent growth in demand owing to the steady rise in the pharmaceutical sector as well as the increased consumption of frozen, perishable and chilled products such as dairy products and fresh produce.
Our estimates indicate that last year the reefer and insulated vehicles market in India contributed to about 10,000 to 11,100 units across medium and heavy commercial vehicles (M&HCVs), intermediate and light commercial vehicles (I&LCVs) and small commercial vehicles and pickups (SCVs & PUs) segments.
The segment is expected to grow manifold in the coming years due to the high demand of temperaturecontrolled transportation of not only the vaccines of COVID-19 to every nook and corner of the country, but also due to rise in consumption of perishable goods and other temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products.
Government of India’s special focus on fisheries and dairy industries in the recent Union Budget would further boost demand for reefer trucks and cold chains. On the back of India developing the pharma hub of the world, the demand for temperature-controlled commercial vehicles would grow further. Buoyant growth in the retailing and food service industry coupled with increased impetus on exports, has created significant business opportunities for cold chain service providers.
Q According to you what are the key growth contributors for the reefer trucks industry?
The Indian refrigerated transportation industry has been witnessing strong growth. The growing food and beverage, and pharma industries represent the key factors driving the growth of the market. Demand for frozen variants of various fresh products has increased, along with the growing demand for the service from residential as well as foodservice operators, such as quick-service restaurants (QSRs), hotels and other eateries. Since most food products and raw materials
require controlled temperatures during transportation for storage to prevent from spoiling, that too in a tropical country like India, refrigerated transportation has become an integral part of the distribution process.
The COVID-19 vaccination programme is also expected to further propel the demand in the immediate future. Moreover, the rapidly growing healthcare sector is expected to amplify the reefer trucks industry in the country.
Apart from the vaccine transportation, the entire cold chain industry has shown keen interest to upgrade to the latest technology of refrigerated trucks which has become more temperature-sensitive, in a quest to reduce wastage and spoilage. Government incentives and schemes and proposed subsidies for food parks would help in the growth of the reefer transportation business.
Q How the vaccination drive is opening up newer business opportunities for truck OEMs in India?
The inoculation campaign against COVID-19 will be massive, hence there will be demand for reefer trucks across CV segments of various tonnages. While the LCVs will play a much larger role in the transportation of vaccines, SCVs will also be deployed for last-mile transportation of the vaccines to the hospitals, pharmacies and vaccination sites.
Tata Motors has tied up with reputed body builders across the country to ensure best-in-class products are offered to the customers. These trucks have superior insulation, robust design, lightweight boxes, and are powered by very fuel-efficient and reliable drivetrains. These trucks have been designed and developed to ensure temperature stability for vaccines and are accurately monitored and maintained across the haulage temperature requirements. Tata Motors is prepared to develop and manufacture refrigerated trucks up to -70˚ C, should there be a need. Tata commercial vehicles have the highest uptime and lowest turnaround time, which are the key requirements of vaccine transport.
Tata Motors offers Fleet Edge which enables fleet management to play a key role in ensuring the integrity of the cold supply chain and can also support critical tracking of vaccinerelated freight.
Q Do you think India has enough infrastructure for vaccine movement?
India already has built a robust cold chain infrastructure and logistics over the last two decades. According to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), as part of the country’s universal immunisation programme (UIP), there are already more than 27,000 cold chain points available with the government. In terms of sheer population size and the vast geographies, the COVID-19 vaccination drive in India is going to be the one of the largest in the world. With the vaccination drive still in the nascent stages, the requirement for reefer trucks is not at its peak now, but as the drive gathers momentum, the demand for reefer trucks too will likely accelerate. The demand for refrigerated trucks will largely depend on the peak demand of the vaccines during the vaccination drive.
Tata Motors has developed a dedicated team for the manufacturing and production of cold chain transportation solutions specifically for the shipment of COVID-19 vaccines.
Q What difference can be observed in the reefer trucks industry before and after the pandemic?
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is creating massive challenges in the road transportation sector and refrigerated trucking is no exception, mainly due to the increasing demands from the food and beverage industry throughout India. Until recently, consumers were not ordering many perishable items online, but that has changed in the postCOVID-19 environment. The pandemic will likely accelerate the need for reefer logistics, creating long-term impact for the cold storage and transportation sectors as follows:
Q What are your export plans and opportunities for refrigerated trucks by Tata Motors?
The SAARC member countries of Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka and the African markets are some of the largest markets for the Tata Motors commercial vehicles business outside India. The company is anticipating demand of reefer trucks for the inoculation drive in these nations. To bank on this demand, Tata Motors is working shoulder to shoulder with the concerned authorities and the dealers in the respective countries to design and develop the vehicles while adhering to their compliance parameters.