The Gurgaon-headquartered commercial vehicle major looks beyond just selling trucks and buses. The company’s focus on digitalisation and aftersales, it believes, is what the new-age customers need.

In the high-stakes world of commercial transportation, time is money – quite literally. Every hour a truck is off the road can mean missed deliveries, idle drivers, delayed shipments and unhappy customers. In India’s competitive commercial vehicle (CV) industry, the ability to minimise downtime and maximise uptime has become a critical differentiator for automakers.

For VE Commercial Vehicles, this principle has been elevated into a business philosophy. Over the past few years, the company has invested heavily in digital tools, predictive maintenance capabilities and an expanded service footprint to ensure that customers’ vehicles are running at peak performance for as many hours of the year as possible.

In an exclusive interaction with Motoring Trends, Ramesh Rajagopalan, EVP - Customer Service, Retail Excellence & Network Development, at VECV, shared his team’s work spans a network of over a thousand service points, a nationwide telematics backbone and a growing portfolio of uptime initiatives that integrate technology, training and process discipline.

Building a network

VECV’s current footprint exceeds 1,100 outlets across India, with an average of 10–12 new additions each month. This network covers the full range of commercial vehicles – from heavy-duty trucks and buses to light and small commercial vehicles.

The company’s growth is not limited to conventional CV outlets. The small commercial vehicle (SCV) network, particularly for electric models, is being built almost from scratch.

Rajagopalan revealed that the company is “working towards creating a network of exclusive dealerships for the newly launched Eicher Pro X, designed to deliver a premium, digitally enabled customer experience. These born-digital outlets will function as one-stop destinations offering advanced product customisation, EV-ready infrastructure and seamless access to connected services. With a focus on uptime, personalisation and convenience, the Pro X dealerships will redefine commercial vehicle retail by offering a car-like, modern environment tailored to the evolving needs of today’s fleet operators.”

“The starting point for us was to identify where we’re missing out – the ‘white spots’, where customers are already buying trucks and buses, but we aren’t present. The East and Northeast were clear gaps. We also looked at the service side: customers expect to have the nearest touchpoint for any service need, parts availability anywhere and 24x7 breakdown support,” he said.

These expectations are complicated by India’s rapidly evolving road infrastructure. With new expressways and freight corridors coming online, VECV has had to rethink its physical network, sometimes relocating facilities, other times adding new ones to stay close to high-traffic routes.

Telematics as the backbone of service planning

The decision to equip 100 percent of VECV’s BS6 vehicles with telematics was a strategic move made early in the transition to the stricter emission norms. The company shared that the BS6 trucks are far more electronically complex, with multiple sensors feeding real-time data on performance, emissions and potential faults.

Rajagopalan explained, “In BS6, any sensor failure that risks an emissions breach triggers a limp-home mode. That’s standard globally. But it can disrupt a customer’s operations if not handled quickly. We saw early on that predictive algorithms could identify error-code patterns that lead to breakdowns, allowing us to intervene before the vehicle stops.”

One example is AdBlue misuse – diluting diesel exhaust fluid with water, which can cause the vehicle to derate. Through telematics, VECV can detect the signs and remotely guide drivers on corrective steps, often via a quick video call.

This predictive maintenance model categorises alerts into three groups:

• Stop Now – requiring immediate action to prevent damage.
• Do It Yourself – where drivers can resolve the issue with guided support.
• Visit Soon – logged into the system so any VECV workshop can address it at the next scheduled service.

Measuring each minute

Digitalisation doesn’t stop at the vehicle. Every VECV workshop uses tablets to track a vehicle from the moment it enters the workshop, through job card creation, repair start and completion, invoicing and gate-out. Customers can see their vehicle’s status in real-time on display boards.

This transparency is more than cosmetic; it drives accountability. Every morning, operational teams review any vehicle that missed its promised delivery time, escalating cases that need additional support.

A recent initiative even monitors waiting times before work begins. If a loaded truck sits for more than an hour, the central control centre calls the dealer to find out why and get it moving. “For our customers, every minute is money. We can’t afford bottlenecks,” revealed Rajagopalan.

Retention in telematics

A common challenge in connected services is renewal beyond the complimentary period. VECV includes two years of telematics subscription with every vehicle and has kept renewal costs at about INR 6,000 annually.

In the early days, renewal rates were low. But targeted engagement – including onboarding every customer on the My Eicher app at delivery, monthly operating review meetings with large fleets and customised reports – has pushed renewal rates among big operators to 80–85 percent.

For smaller operators, overall renewal rates are about 35 percent, but with over 350,000 connected vehicles on Indian roads, the base is significant. VECV also addresses multi-device fatigue – where customers were earlier forced to install separate tracking units for clients or state mandates, by offering API integration, allowing its data to feed into external systems and avoiding duplicate hardware.

Perhaps the most distinctive element of VECV’s service model is its Uptime Centre, located at the company’s manufacturing plant. This facility operates 24x7, staffed with technical experts who can remotely diagnose issues, advise on repairs and escalate complex cases to R&D or manufacturing engineers.

If a problem can’t be resolved remotely within a couple of hours, specialist engineers, or what the company calls ‘flying doctors’, are dispatched to the vehicle location. The Uptime Centre also monitors parts queries, workshop performance and telematics alerts, ensuring that field teams have expert backup at all times.

Parts availability

Downtime isn’t just about repairs, but it is also about parts. To address this, VECV has identified 250 high-demand parts and mandated that every workshop keeps them in stock. If any of these parts is unavailable and not supplied within 24 hours, it is provided free of charge.

This guarantee is part of a broader spare parts strategy that includes decentralised stocking, demand forecasting based on telematics data and close coordination between dealers and the central supply chain.

With trucks and buses running more kilometres per year than ever – e-commerce trucks and long-distance buses reaching 200,000 km annually – service demand is growing even as reliability and service intervals improve.

To meet this, VECV has:

• 70 workshops operating round-the-clock, 365 days a year.
• Nearly 300 workshops running extended hours or double shifts.
• Training programmes to upskill technicians for faster, more accurate repairs.
• Investments in better workshop tools and equipment to boost productivity.

Dealers as partners in performance

Rajagopalan believes dealer capability is as important as infrastructure: “Today’s customers don’t tolerate delays. Delivery commitments that were acceptable in a week are now expected in hours. That pressure flows through the entire supply chain.”

VECV has put process discipline and transparency at the core of dealer operations. Every dealer is connected to the central system, with KPIs on breakdown response time, parts availability and repair turnaround. These metrics are published internally, creating healthy competition among regions to be ‘best-in-class.’

Rajagopalan shared his five strategic priorities or key focus areas –

1. Service Capacity Expansion – adding workshops, increasing working hours and boosting throughput per facility.
2. Competency Development – continuous technician training for faster, first-time-right repairs.
3. Parts Availability – maintaining high stock levels of critical components, backed by guarantees.
4. Predictive Maintenance Evolution – extending analytics beyond sensor data to wear-and-tear parts like clutches and brakes.
5. Telematics Insights – leveraging connected data for deeper operational recommendations to customers.

While much of VECV’s work is grounded in engineering and technology, Rajagopalan emphasises that the company’s philosophy is human-centred. “Our uptime promise is non-negotiable. Every innovation, whether digital or operational, is aimed at keeping our customers’ wheels turning. That’s how they earn and that’s how we build trust,” he said.

From a strategic perspective, VECV’s approach reflects an industry-wide shift. The CV market is no longer just about selling hardware; it’s about selling an ecosystem of services, digital capabilities and operational support – and backing it up with the speed and reliability that today’s logistics-driven economy demands.

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Mumbai-headquartered automotive major Mahindra Group has highlighted the development of its corporate exhibition space, The Museum of Living History, at Mahindra Towers in Worli, Mumbai, to mark International Museum Day.

Established in July 2022 to document the group’s operations since its inception, the facility records an average attendance of 900 to 1,000 visitors per month, including students, professionals and the public.

The facility incorporates physical and digital art installations to display the timeline of the company’s business sectors. Recent updates made to the repository include a ‘culture wall’ detailing the group’s involvement with the Mahindra Season of Festivals music events, alongside exhibits representing updated corporate values.

The architecture of the 4,000-square-foot space is based on the nautilus shell, utilising a spiral design to illustrate business expansion and structural changes. The interior layout uses variations in light and texture to connect historical records with current industrial projects. The curation, designed by creative consultant Elsie Nanji and experience designer Harsh Manrao, focuses on individual narratives and commissioned artworks rather than traditional historical artifacts.

Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group, said, “The Museum of Living History has evolved to reflect the changing Mahindra business and cultural landscape, while still staying true to the Group’s philosophy and core values. The cornucopia of stories from both businesses and our people is reflective of the brand we are – a living, breathing entity in this ever-changing world.”

The exhibition path follows a nonlinear format, allowing visitors to interpret the installations independently. The museum serves as a central repository for the group's corporate history while functioning as an interactive space for public and institutional visits.

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Chennai-headquartered mid-sized motorcycle major Royal Enfield has announced plans to secure a land parcel for a greenfield manufacturing facility in Tada (Tirupati), Andhra Pradesh.

The company intends to invest approximately INR 25 billion in the expansion project, which will be implemented in phases subject to board approval and market conditions.

At present, the motorcycle manufacturer has a capacity to produce 1.46 million units per year, which is currently operating near full utilisation. This announcement follows an INR 9.58 billion investment made in February 2026 for a brownfield expansion in Cheyyar, Tamil Nadu, which is projected to increase the company's total production capacity to 2 million units annually. In FY2026, Royal Enfield recorded sales of 1.2 million motorcycles.

B. Govindarajan, Managing Director - Eicher Motors, and Chief Executive Officer, Royal Enfield, said, “Royal Enfield's philosophy has always been to stay connected with our community to deliver the best possible products and experiences. We currently operate four world-class manufacturing facilities in Tamil Nadu, with a total projected capacity of 2 million units annually. This investment in Andhra Pradesh will augment that capacity and provide the impetus for our next phase of growth. We are grateful to the Government of Andhra Pradesh for their support and partnership as we strengthen our presence in a state with immense potential. Having already established over 100 retail and service outlets and more than 1,200 direct and indirect employment opportunities, we are proud to contribute to its industrial and economic landscape.”

The company’s existing infrastructure includes four manufacturing bases in Tamil Nadu, alongside seven Completely Knocked Down (CKD) assembly plants located in Bangladesh, Nepal, Brazil, Thailand, Argentina and Colombia. Technical operations are managed through two centres in Bruntingthorpe, UK, and Chennai, India.

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Chinese automotive major BYD is on an expansion spree; the world’s leading electric vehicle manufacturer is said to be in conversation with automakers in Europe for acquiring their underused production facilities, says Bloomberg.

The revelation was made in an interview with Stella Li, Vice-President of International Operations, BYD, who said, “We are talking to not only Stellantis, but also other companies too. We are looking for any available plant in Europe because we want to utilise this kind of spare capacity."

It is important to note that BYD is already setting up its own production facility in Szegad, Hungary, which is set to be operational next year.

The Chinese automaker is already the world’s biggest electric vehicle manufacturer, but has been under pressure on the back of weak domestic demand. It has been actively looking to expand its product portfolio and sales in newer markets.

Interestingly, the report further mentioned that BYD may also be open to acquiring European luxury brands such as Stellantis’ Maserati, which she found ‘very interesting’.

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After reports of a lack of availability or less availability of petrol, diesel and CNG came in from various parts of India, the news is out that the state refiners have hiked the price of petrol and diesel by roughly INR 3 per litre across major parts of India.

The hike in petrol and diesel prices has come after four years and against the background of the West Asia conflict involving US, Israel and Iran. Since the conflict began a few months back, the prices of crude oil per barrel have been rising. They stand at approximately USD 107.09 per barrel as of current. 

The price increase, industry sources aware of the overall development in the crude oil sector indicate, is only about one-tenth of the rise that would be necessary to make up for the losses the oil refiners are incurring at the moment. 
The increase in petrol and diesel prices follows the increase in CNG prices by around INR two sometime ago by providers like Mahanagar Gas. 

While the Union Petroleum Minister is known to assert that there is no shortage of fuel in the country, there have been reports from regions like the stretch of the Mumbai-Goa highway in Maharashtra, where pumps have run dry. There have been reports from regions like Nagpur in central India, where truckers have had to halt their journey as pumps ran dry of fuel earlier than expected and had to limit the quantity of fuel they could provide to their consumers. 

Petrol in Mumbai now costs INR 106.68 per litre, approximately, whereas diesel now costs INR 93.4 per litre, roughly. CNG per kg retails at about INR 84, up from the earlier INR 82.

As a result of the price rise in all the fuels used by the mobility sector, a fear is growing that the freight rates will go up, which would have a ripple effect on the prices of commodities. Other than plastics and metals, the prices of various oils, including cooking oil, are expected to go up somewhat if not sharply.   

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