Tata Motors opens first vehicle scrappage facility in Jaipur

Tata Motors, the country's largest commercial vehicle maker, opened its first vehicle scrappage facility on the outskirts of Jaipur on Tuesday, as part of its plan to have dozen such facilities for which letters of intent (LoI) have already been given. 

Aptly titled as Re.Wi.Re – Recycle with Respect, the company plans to open at least one such vehicle scrappage unit in each state before expanding further. 

Ganganagar Vaahan Udyog Ltd., a partner of Tata Motors, runs the facility along the NH-8 Jaipur-Ajmer highway, which is being used to scrap passenger and commercial vehicles of all brands that have reached the end of their useful lives. The facility is on five acres of land and can handle more than 15,000 vehicles each year. 

The facility was virtually opened by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. He said that the facility, which is near the cement and construction materials hub, will help recycle and make materials more circular so that they can be used again in industries like cement, steel, aluminum, and plastic, among others. He pointed out that the change will also help India become less reliant on scrap imports in the coming years since recycling will increase as people get rid of their old vehicles. For instance, he noted that about 50 to 60 such centers will significantly reduce India's steel scrappage before adding that the industry can become a hub for vehicle scrappage in the South Asian region. "We are working towards positioning India as a vehicle scrapping hub for the entire South Asian region and need more such state-of-the-art scrapping and recycling units in India.” Gadkari went on to say  that older vehicles pollute 10 to 12 times more than fit vehicles with India holding a monumental load of over 2 crore old vehicles nearing the end of their lives.

As per Girish Wagh, Executive Director, Tata Motors, the inauguration of this RVSF (Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility) heralds a new beginning in responsible scrapping of end-of-life vehicles. He emphasized that the intention is to yield maximum value from the scrap for future use and minimise waste for the overall betterment." These decentralised facilities will benefit the customers, share the economic value generated, create employment while addressing the need of scrapping vehicles in every part of the country in an eco-friendly manner" Wagh said.

As per government estiamtes, India has 51 lakh light motor vehicles which are older than 20 years and another 34 lakh which are older than 15 years. There are around 17 lakh Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicles (M&HCVs) older than 15 years without a valid fitness certificate. The vehicle scrappage ecosystem is expected to attract additional investments of around Rs. 10,000 Crore and 35,000 job opportunities, the government estimates suggests.

The Center's vehicle scrappage policy which was announced in early 2021. envisage that the vehicle owner will get approximately 4-6% dsicount of ex-showroom price on purchase of new vehicle in addition to getting discout on road-tax of upto 25 % for personal vehicles and 15% for commercial vehicles. 

Vehicle scrappage basically eliminates the use of old, polluting vehicles on the road. A vehicle scrappage policy, which has been adopted by a number of developed markets, is typically required by a government to accelerate the replacement of old, polluting vehicles with new vehicles. A strategy like this has the added benefit of stimulating the domestic automobile and automotive industry while also removing inefficient, polluting vehicles from the road, clearing the way for greener driving and cleaner air, the industry observers claim.