India’s commercial vehicle (CV) industry is rapidly aligning with global standards, thanks to policy reforms, evolving customer expectations and a robust domestic ecosystem. Automakers and suppliers are making significant strides in cost competitiveness, safety innovations and integrating alternative energy solutions. As the sector continues to evolve, the need for collaboration and strategic discussions has never been more critical.

Recognising this imperative, Motoring Trends, a leading automotive magazine, hosted its inaugural Commercial Vehicles Conference on 21st November 2024, in Pune, India. Themed ‘Moving India Forward’, the event served as a platform for industry leaders, including OEMs, suppliers, technocrats, fleet operators and industry partners, to address challenges and identify opportunities shaping the future of the Indian CV landscape.

By bringing together stakeholders from across the value chain, the conference underscored the importance of collective action in driving innovation, enhancing safety standards, and adopting sustainable practices. As the CV industry transforms to meet global benchmarks, such forums are vital to ensuring India’s leadership in the sector while addressing its unique market dynamics and needs.

Mahindra Truck & Bus, Ashok Leyland and Apollo Tyres supported the event as sponsors, while Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) was the Associate partner, while Asian Trucker and Tyre Trends were the Media partners. The delegates at the event attended from a range of companies such as Tata Motors, MAN Trucks, Continental India, Tyresoles India, and Volvo Trucks among others.

The event kicked off with Dr Seshu Bhagavathula, Director, CityQ and an automotive industry veteran delivering the Keynote address, where he highlighted how urban cities around the world are working to decongest and decarbonise their streets. “This (decongestion and decarbonisation) requires a serious relook and focus on improving urban mobility as well as the role of alternative energy to support the transition,” Dr Bhagavathula.

Rashmi Urdhwareshe, Former Director, Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) shared her perspective on how the automotive industry has been focussing on not just introducing the latest technologies, but also co-developing solutions to meet the India-specific needs. She emphasised  the close cooperation between testing agencies, suppliers and OEMs that is accelerating the transition to the latest technologies.

Making commercial vehicles safer

The commercial vehicle population on Indian roads accounts for a small parc of the total vehicles, but ranks 3^rd when it comes to the vehicles involved in road accidents. In 2022, more than 460,000 accidents took place in India, which resulted in over 168,491 people losing their lives and over 443,366 people being injured.

The first panel discussion of the day focussed on one of the most important aspects pertaining to the CV industry – Safety. The panellists for the session included – Dr Venkat Srinivas, Head Of Business, Mahindra Truck & Bus; Rahul S. Mahajan, Deputy Director, The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI); Sudeepth Puthumana, Head of Segment – ADAS, Autonomous Mobility, Continental Automotive India and Prashant Kakade, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH).

The session, moderated by Bhushan Mhapralkar, Editor, Motoring Trends, touched upon various factors ranging from ADAS technology, and road designing to driver training and sensitisation.

SKP Amarnath, Group Head - R&D, Apollo Tyres gave a presentation on ‘Commercial Vehicle (Truck) Evolution In India And Impact On Tyres’. He dwelled into the key developments that have taken place in the CV industry and how tyres can play a key role in influencing vehicle safety and efficiency.

Vijay Shrinivas, Member, TREA - Tyre Retreading Education Association and CEO, Indag, gave a presentation on ‘Driving Sustainability and Circularity in Commercial Vehicle Industry’. He presented his thoughts on how treading not only helps save costs on tyre replacement but also enables higher circularity and thus helps reduce carbon emissions too.

Alternative energy & future of commercial vehicles

The role of alternative energy has been a key topic of discussion globally across vehicle segments. While there has been a focus on electrification in certain vehicle classes, the commercial vehicle segment will need to adopt a mixed approach depending on the application and use case.

The second panel discussion was on the topic of Alternative Energy and the Future of Commercial Vehicle. The panellists – Dr Bhagavathula ; Mahesh Babu, CEO, Switch Mobility; Anil Baliga, President, EKA Mobility; Boddapati Dinakar, Executive Vice-President, Sales & Marketing, Volvo Trucks, VECV; Shailesh Zinge, Director - Marketing, Growth Initiatives and Program Management, Engine Business, Cummins India and A Ramasubramanian, CTO, Blue Energy Motors presented their perspective on the alternative fuel segment.

The session was moderated by Nilesh Wadhwa, Assistant Editor, Motoring Trends.

The discussion focussed on how industry stakeholders were exploring various energy mix ranging from electric, LNG to future fuels such as hydrogen and fuel cells. The panellists agreed that globally too at present there was no single fuel that could completely overhaul the commercial vehicles segment. There was a need to not only focus on the vehicles but the necessary charging/refuelling ecosystem.

Transport ecosystem

The health of the CV industry is one of the key barometers to understand a country’s economic prosperity. While one can discuss the trends, policies and technologies, it is imperative that the views of the key stakeholder – fleet operators – are taken into account.

The third panel discussion of the day was on the topic of ‘Transport Ecosystem’. The panellists for the session were - Bal Malkit Singh, Chairman - the Core Committee, Former President, All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) Prasanna Patwardhan, President, Bus & Car Operators Confederation Of India (BOCI) and Sanjay Sasane, Principal, Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR).

The session, moderated by Sharad Matade, Executive Editor, Motoring Trends, had an indepth discussion on how fleet operators continued to face headwinds ranging from increases in operational expenses, driver shortages and road infrastructure among others. At the same time, the revenues had not kept up at the same pace. The panellists also presented their perspectives on the adoption of newer technologies and alternative fuels.

Atul Patil, Vice-President – Marketing, Pin 365 delivered the Vote of Thanks. 

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Tarmac, a CRH company and one of United Kingdom’s leading sustainable building materials and construction solutions business, has reported a significant decrease in road incidents and operational costs following the first 12 months of a safety technology partnership with Motormax and Geotab.

The company operates a diverse fleet of over 2,000 vehicles including trucks, vans and plant equipment, deployed a multi-camera system integrated with the MyGeotab platform.

This ‘single pane of glass’ view allows transport teams to access telematics data and high-quality video footage simultaneously, providing evidence for incident reporting and targeted driver training.

The implementation has delivered measurable improvements across safety and financial metrics including 30 percent decrease in driver-fault collisions and a 50 percent reduction in ‘pulling out’ incidents. The proportion of high and medium-risk drivers fell from 40 percent to 6.5 percent.

Tarmac claims it achieved a 30 percent YoY saving in collision repair costs, while fuel economy improved by 25 percent across the van fleet due to better driving behaviours. Speeding incidents per 1,000 miles also halved since May 2023.

The technology has streamlined collaboration with Tarmac’s insurer, AXA. By training the insurance claims team to use the system, the company has accelerated claims resolution and improved liability decisions. Based on these results, the insurer has provided a bursary that Tarmac is reinvesting into multi-camera technology for all new vehicles.

Jonathan Meddings, Fleet Risk & Compliance Manager, Tarmac, said, “The integration allows managers to view telematics data and high-quality camera footage in a single platform, accelerating decision-making and streamlining fleet operations. As a result, we have already seen significant cost savings.”

Beyond safety, the platform supports wider business functions including HMRC Compliance – accurate reporting of personal mileage usage. Improved mileage capture for lease vehicles and the optimisation of vehicle types to ensure higher-cost 4x4s are only used when necessary.

Tarmac uses the data to reward safe driving through its ‘100 Club’ initiative, which recognises drivers who maintain perfect scores over 300 miles in a month.

The integration of fleet safety data into monthly management packs has elevated road safety from a compliance task to a core operational discipline with clear accountability.

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Swedish automotive major Volvo Group has announced that Stephen Roy, President of Mack Trucks and head of Group Trucks North America, will retire after nearly 25 years with the company.

He will be succeeded by Wilson Lirmann, the Current Head of Volvo Trucks Latin America, effective 1 August 2026.

Roy has held various senior leadership positions across Volvo’s truck and construction equipment divisions. During his three-year tenure as President of Mack Trucks, he is credited with establishing a foundation for the brand's growth in the North American market.

Lirmann brings around 10 years of experience as the leader of Volvo’s Latin American business. His background includes multiple roles within the truck division, where he has focused on operational efficiency and market expansion in South America.

Martin Lundstedt, President and CEO, Volvo Group, said, “I am deeply grateful for Stephen’s contributions over the years. In his different roles, Stephen has driven the platform for continued growth in North America, reinforcing our regional strategy and setting us up well for the next phase.”

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Scania Commercial Vehicle India (SCVI) has inaugurated its new corporate office in Bengaluru, marking a significant milestone in strengthening its footprint in the country in the presence of Jan Thesleff, Ambassador of Sweden to India. Also present were Silvio Munhoz, Managing Director, Scania Commercial Vehicles India Pvt Ltd; Martin Stahlberg, Senior Vice President Asia and Oceania at Scania CV AB; senior Scania leaders; key customers; dealer partners, and senior members from Business Sweden and finance partners.
Reinforcing its long-term commitment to India, the new office in Bengaluru follows the launch of Scani Super and the announcement of the White label financing programme in partnership with Axis Bank, which is aimed at providing customers with accessible and competitive financing solutions for purchasing Scania trucks in India.
Confirming that its Regional Product Centre (RPC) in Narasapura will remain fully operational with end-to-end capabilities and support customers with tailored solutions across key segments, SCVI officials mentioned that the recently developments leading up to the inauguration of the office in downtown Bengaluru reflect the Swedish commercial vehicle manufacturer’s continued focus on expanding its presence in India, strengthening its ecosystem and building a more locally anchored and responsive business to meet evolving customer needs.
With uptime, efficiency and business resilience impetus rising, Scania is aiming for greater agility and shorter response times. It is strengthening its market presence and the support ecosystem around customers. The Bengaluru office will play a key role there, enabling stronger collaboration, faster decision-making and superior customer engagement. It will also play a vital role in dealer engagement, engagement with financial institutions and other stakeholders. 
The Bengaluru office will also serve a hub to attract and nurture a strong talent pool, bring together skilled professionals who will drive innovation, operational excellence and long-term growth for the company in India.
Ambassador Thesleff expressed that it is a pleasure to witness this important milestone for Scania in India. “The inauguration of the new Bengaluru office reflects not only Scania’s continued commitment to the market but also a strong vote of confidence in India’s growth and long-term potential,” he added.
Reflecting on Sweden and India sharing a deep and expanding partnership, building a collaborative atmosphere across trades and in innovation and sustainability, Thesleff said, “The new Scania office in Bengaluru underscores the Swedish manufacturer’s focus on future-ready mobility solutions and sustainable development as well.” 
Munhoz stated that India is a strategically important market for Scania and the focus is on building a business that is closer to customers, is faster in response and stronger in execution. 
“The new Bengaluru office not only enhances our ability to collaborate more closely with customers and partners but also strengthens our access to a highly skilled talent pool, enabling us to build a future-ready organisation,” he added. 
Martin Stahlberg, Senior Vice President Asia and Oceania at Scania CV AB, articulated, “From a global perspective, India represents a key market for Scania’s long-term growth and capability development. The inauguration of our Bengaluru office reflects our commitment to strengthening our local presence while enhancing how we support customers and partners in the region.” “This milestone reinforces our focus on building sustainable capabilities and delivering long-term value in markets that are central to Scania’s global growth journey,” he stressed. 
Located in the heart of Bengaluru, the Scania office in Bengaluru will serve as a hub for key functions, supporting closer coordination across teams and enabling greater agility and responsiveness in a market that continues to be central to Scania’s regional ambitions.
The new office was inaugurated in the presence of senior Scania leadership, key customers, dealer partners, senior members from Business Sweden and finance partners. Designed in line with the Scania Way and Swedish open work culture, the office features collaborative layouts, functional design, and sustainability-focused elements such as energy-efficient lighting, climate control systems, and the use of sustainable and recyclable materials where feasible.
 

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Ashok Leyland has launched 'Twin Fuel' variants of the Dost and Dost+ XL pickup trucks in an effort to deliver sustainable customer-centric mobility solutions. The models are equipped with advanced technology that allows seamless switching between Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and petrol, offering customers unmatched flexibility and peace of mind. The Twin Fuel technology addresses one of the most pressing concerns for CNG vehicle users – range anxiety and the fear of not finding a CNG pump along their route. With dual-fuel capability, customers can seamlessly switch between CNG and Petrol, ensuring uninterrupted journeys and the freedom to travel longer distances without compromise mentioned Amandeep Singh, President – LCV, IO, Defence & Power Solutions, Ashok Leyland, at the launch. 
"The launch of our Twin Fuel Dost and Dost+ XL is a significant step in our journey towards sustainable and customer-focused innovation," he explained. "We believe this will set new benchmarks in the LCV segment and reinforce our leadership in providing future-ready mobility solutions," Singh observed.  
Viplav Shah, Head - LCV Business, Ashok Leyland, expressed, "The Dost range already has the trust of hundreds of thousands of small businesses. With the introduction of TWIN FUEL variants, we are empowering small businesses and fleet operators with greater choice and efficiency. The vehicles are designed to provide operational flexibility by running on CNG for cost efficiency and petrol for extended range and eliminating availability anxiety, while delivering lower emissions that reduce the carbon footprint and support India’s sustainability goals. We believe this innovation will resonate strongly with entrepreneurs and fleet operators across India."

Distinguishing itself with a benchmark payload capacity of 1218 kg, an extended driving range of 400 km and having a large CNG tank of 120 litres, the twin fuel Dost comes with an additional petrol tank of five litres as a back up fuel supply. In the case of Twin Fuel Dost+ XL, the payload is of 1410 kg, the CNG tank is of 148 litres and an additional petrol tank is of five litres. The resultant range that is delivered is a good 500 km, addressing a key challenge faced by urban and semi-urban logistics operators, last-mile delivery businesses and small enterprises. 

The Twin Fuel Dost is priced at INR 820,ooo ex-showroom and the Twin Fuel Dost+ XL is priced upwards of INR 875,000 ex-showroom. 

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