Tata Motors: Powering Ahead In Logistics

The Indian logistics market is a massive $210 Billion part of the world’s $5.2 Trillion logistics industry. With the participation of the industry for any particular country hovering in the range of 9-20%, it is an obvious deduction that the logistical industry and all its players play a significant part in any country’s growth and survival. Closer home, the industry amounts to 13% of its GDP, and over the past decade, it has gone through significant changes on various fronts – Technology, Environmental Responsibility, Regulations, and innovations.

Sub-industries like last-mile delivery have seen an explosion in growth with both, smaller more innovative as well as giant players with reach and data putting their best feet forward in a digital world. On one hand, we have seen a rise of start-ups that are creating new digital solutions for connecting brands with the customers at their doorsteps to brands creating products that make these technologies work in the real world. The COVID pandemic has only accelerated this growth and the momentum will continue for decades to come.  We have also seen changes in some significant regulations that have brought in a massive shift in the transport industry. Regulations like GST have changed how the money and taxes flow in the system while the introduction of BS6 emission norms, some of the strictest in the world, are helping the Indian logistics industry push forward into a better future.

Recently, we have also seen the introduction of extremely significant IAL or Increased Axle Load regulations which brought our commercial vehicles, especially in the M&HCV (Medium and Heavy-Duty Commercial Vehicle) segment, at par with their global counterparts. These regulations came close to the aforementioned BS6 emission norms. Both these together could be considered to have brought in a paradigm shift in the CV space. This has also let players in the segment show off their technological prowess along with their understanding of typically Indian customer and market requirements.

By far, the biggest player in the Indian CV industry, Tata Motors has managed to stay ahead of the competition through its unmatched sense of our market. The company is the largest CV manufacturer in the Indian CV industry and has stayed well ahead of the curve for decades now. The ‘original’ entrepreneurs of the Indian CV industry, Tata Motors sells 1 in every 3 trucks sold in the country. The Automobile behemoth started its commercial vehicle journey way back in 1954 when it introduced its first truck, the TMB 312 in collaboration with Daimler. Ever since then, the company and its CVs have been an integral part of the nation’s growth.

Tata Motors has continuously invested in innovation, technology, and its people to ensure it always presents its customers with the best it can offer. The company was behind the many firsts of the Indian CV industry, such as the introduction of – CRDi engines, Automatic Transmissions, cruise control, ABS, 4-Axle rigid truck, 5-Axle twin steerable rigid truck, first IAL products, 6 year/ 6 lakh km warranty, among many others. At present, this $34 Billion automobile manufacturing giant has a presence all over the world with design centres in India, the UK, and Korea.

The company has also never shied away from taking risks with all-new segments, for example, the phenomenally successful Tata Ace family of mini-trucks that have been a massive reason behind the growth of last-mile connectivity in the country. The company has also traditionally invested significant money into future technologies and has a slew of e-mobility solutions on offer and in the pipeline to keep on serving its customers in an electric commercial mobility world.

Disclaimer: The views expressed are the author’s own and the article is not an Outlook Money editorial feature

Author is an automobile journalist, content consultant, marketing campaign designer, and video content producer for automotive media and various other businesses.