THE WINDS OF CHANGE
Riding the winds of change as a key element of the road transport sector, which contributes to 4.5 per cent of India’s GDP and carries 87 per cent of passenger and 60 per cent of freight traffic, value trucks have been driving a big change. In context to the infrastructure change, which began with the Golden Quadrilateral, value trucks have been marking a logical extension of the Indian trucking industry. With the Bharatmala Project (expected to be completed by 2024) flagged off, the winds of change have also encompassed an increase in the speed of travel of trucks. As trucks average higher speeds, they bring to the fore factors like comfort, convenience and safety. With infrastructural developments like Sagarmala, Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFC) and logistics parks across the country, it is the value trucks that are providing a competitive edge to the transporters. It is they that are helping to support reduced TAT. It is they that are providing transporters with the advantage of higher utilisation. Especially in the case of new business areas like e-commerce, express and third-party logistics.
Supporting the intent of next-generation transporters to use technology to their advantage; to explore new digital avenues to achieve gains in productivity, to experience the ease of doing business and achieve higher profitability, it is the value trucks that are turning the prospect of clocking 20,000 plus km per month into reality. On the basis of their ability to perform, be it fuel efficiency and reliability or more, it is the value trucks that are offering a distinct safety edge as well as an ergonomic edge. It is they that are facilitating the prospect of driving faster and longer. Considering the need for a supporting ecosystem that would ensure the desired deliverance, it is the value trucks that are delivering higher productivity taking advantage of infrastructural changes like toll tax automation, e-way bills and warehouse automation. Taking into account, India’s logistics cost as a per centage of GDP – it is 14 per cent as compared to countries like US and Germany at 9.5 per cent and eight-per cent respectively, it is the value trucks that are promising its operators an opportunity to gain most from initiatives like the national logistics policy, which is aimed at promoting swift and seamless movement of goods through digital and multimodal arrangement.
Poised to play a key role in the improvement of logistical performance index and the cutting down of logistics cost to 10 per cent of GDP by 2022, value trucks have come to signal the participation of more players in the M&HCV segment such that a competitive sphere with innovation and features are being dialed. The result of such a development is expected to further lower the TCO. Coming to offer longer service intervals, it is the value trucks that are getting the driver and transporter to experience superior refinement and
comfort, in-line with the prospect of trucks clocking more revenue-earning kilometres and being more productive. The BSVI value trucks, the most evolved of the lot perhaps, it is they that are adding a new dimension to the word after-sales support. It is they that are turning the prospect of after-sales support into a key differentiation in terms of TCO, up-time and reliability; in terms of trust and brand loyalty too. Key to the success of value trucks, the transition to BSVI has at its core, milestones like re-training and re-skilling of technical staff at dealerships (on the mechatronics front especially, as these trucks now incorporate many sensors, ECUs and other electronic parts) and driver training (to be familiar with new control systems and gadgets onboard like real-time fuel coaching, reading error codes, diagnostics info, fuel efficiency modes, etc.). These two parameters, which encompass the driver (who until now was not even involved in the buying decision of the transporter) and the service centre, are set to have a far-reaching effect on the trucking industry. They have come to highlight the role of technology like no other.
Technology (not just mechanical but electronics as well as chemical engineering) it is clear is at the core of value trucks. It is definitely at the core of BSVI value trucks. Right from the materials and aggregates, the production ecosystem to the spare parts and service system, it is the technology that is leading the charge as far as value trucks are concerned. It is the technology that is set to support the many endeavours of value trucks throughout their lifecycle. With BSVI emission norms ushering in a drastic change, it is the technology that has taken the front seat in the value trucks. The BSVI value trucks have in fact come to rub shoulders with the trucks in Europe. Well, almost. On the emissions side to be more specific- a complex Exhaust After-Treatment System (EATS) that is standard on every heavy-duty truck with DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter), DOC (Diesel Oxidation Catalyst), SCR (Selective Catalyst Reduction) plus ASC (Ammonia Slip Catalyst) that together reduce NOx by 88 per cent, PM by 50 per cent and HC by 86 per cent (the tailpipe emissions) as compared to BSIV trucks have come to define value trucks rather profoundly.
enhance profitability; to stay connected. The ‘connected’ truck functionalities encompass fuel management, trip management, remote diagnostics and predictive maintenance. It is because of telematics and developments related to it, that the CV manufacturers have succeeded in setting up uptime centres (much like a control tower in an airport) capable of elevating the driver and operator support system to a new level.
Capable of connecting the driver with the dealer with the up-time centre for guidance troubleshooting, technical knowledge, asset utilisation, reduction in operating expenses and
to further elevate driver behaviour through virtual as well as real-time coaching, value trucks have come to promise lower TCO and higher profitability like no other. It is not surprising therefore that almost all the CV manufacturers have made telematics a standard fitment on their BSVI trucks. The positioning and differentiation strategy of OEMs pertaining to their value truck offerings as fuel-efficient, safe, comfortable, convenient, reliable and durable machines has been well received. The proposition of better TCO compared to their rivals has been the talking point of it all. With ‘customer and his business success’ at the centre of new developments concerning value trucks, a new age beckons. It is about an opportune moment for OEMs to reboot their strategies, re-imagine the future of Indian trucking and chart a new innovation call. A call that is about an ability to introspect, practice ingenuity and involve all the stakeholders.