Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday announced that automobile manufacturers will soon have to install AC inside truck driver cabins.
Commercial vehicle prices could go up between 1 per cent and 2 per cent with the installation of Air-Conditioned (AC) inside driver cabins of trucks.
According to industry leaders, the productivity of the drivers would increase with the installation but the cost would also increase with the mandate.
Also read: Daimler India CEO says Gadkari’s AC mandatory proposal will help boost safety
Renting prices
“We are not in a position to incur any more costs. The vehicle prices and the vehicle renting prices will also increase. We are also finalising the fuel economy situation after installing the cabins in the commercial vehicles,” said Bal MalKit Singh, Chairman of the core committee & Former President, of All India Motor Transport Congress.
Despite the price increase the demand for commercial vehicles will continue to be robust.
“The Indian automobile market is almost at the pre-Covid levels in the commercial vehicle segment and is expected to further boost. The dealers are carrying good booking and corporate and bulk buying has gone up. The cost of AC cabins will be a bit higher but the turnover time of the driver, comfort and drivability will be a positive push,” said Manish Raj Singhania, President of the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA)
The commercial vehicle industry volumes are expected to grow by 7-10 per cent in FY24 supported by replacement demand, pick-up in mining, infrastructure, and construction activities, and overall fleet utilisation according to ICRA. The growth of CV is followed by the expansion of industry volumes by more than 33 per cent in FY23.