NEW DELHI: With car production all set to surge and the industry likely to double sales by 2010, specialised transport solutions are being worked out to maintain the cost-competitiveness of the auto industry.
The total production of passenger vehicles is likely to cross the 3-million mark by 2010 (from 1.4 million in 2006-07), and the big companies are getting ready to tap the potential.
US major General Electric will provide the technology to its Kolkata-based strategic partner Titagarh Wagons (TWL) to develop specialised car wagons for bulk transport of vehicles on the rail network.
GE Equipment Services president Dan Nalawade told
ET: “Based on our global expertise, we offer a wide variety of railcars, intermodal equipment, and customised solutions in automobile transporting. TWL would be developing these specialised wagons and rakes for transporting car and other vehicles though Railways, which would make operating costs very competitive in the Indian market.”
Other new entrants, such as German major Hallman Logistics, are providing complete end-to-end solutions to automobile companies. “Backed by specialised manpower training, we have developed customised back-end solutions, such as shifting cars to RR Vessels (ships with waterproof car parkings) for the overseas market.
We are also introducing sealed containers to ferry cars in the domestic market at extremely competitive rates,” said Hallman Logistics India head Amit Kapoor.
The massive capacity expansion lined up by car companies has prompted the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers’ to work towards roping in the Indian Railways to meet the sector’s transport requirements. It is aiming at transporting a minimum 15% of the total car and two wheeler production by the railways in the next few years. “We have requested for a joint-working group—SIAM and Railways—to harness the logistics potential and remove obstacles for a low cost transport model,” said a senior functionary of SIAM.
The working group would moot proposals for effective transport solutions for the Indian auto industry and remove the hindrances hampering the development of Railways as a mass transporter of all vehicles,” said a senior functionary of SIAM.
Currently most of the industry’s transport needs, both domestic and exports, are met through road transport. All companies hire tractor-trailers to move finished products out of factories to the market, and the Railways’ share is a mere 2%.
Hyundai Motor India, India’s largest exporter of cars, has asked for a dedicated rail link from its Chennai plant, to the Chennai port, which would be the largest car export facility in India.
“We would be exporting 3-lakh cars in next two years and are already facing transport bottlenecks. We have mooted a proposal for a dedicated rail corridor to allow seamless transport from State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) to the Chennai Port,” said a spokesperson of Hyundai Motor.
Other companies vying for the Rs 1,000-crore automobile logistics market include NYK Logistics, Mitsui OSK, Adani Logistics and K L Logistics that are negotiating with different car makers with their customised solutions.
