VRL Logistics to replace ageing fleet

VRL Logistics, one of India’s largest fleet owners, plans to replace its ageing fleet taking advantage of the automotive scrappage policy, and will induct around 1600 customised trucks. The automotive scrappage policy announced in mid-2021 mandates the disposal of commercial vehicles that have been in operation for over 15 years.

VRL’s total truck fleet as of February 2021 was at 4,786, out of which about 1200 vehicles are set to get replaced in near future. The fleet addition, which is expected to cost approximately Rs 560 crore, will start this month and the vehicles will be inducted over a time frame of 12-18 months, the company said in a regulatory filing. 

According to VRL, the break-up of the new trucks includes 1000 units of Tata LPT 2818, 200 units of Tata LPT 1415, 100 trucks of Tata 610 SFC make and 200 units of Ashok Leyland 192 make and 100 of the 4620 make. The proposed capex which will be staggered over 12-month period will help VRL Logistics meet demand in due course and reduce dependence on hired vehicles, the company noted. Taking the costing into consideration, VRL Logistics has decided to purchase only truck chassis from Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland and would construct the truck bodies in-house / outside as feasible. 

As per an estimation by the management of VRL Logistics, the company will lose fleet capacity of up to 12000 MT owing to scrapping of the vehicles. The proposed additional capacity would result in a total addition of around 25OOO MT which is a net addition of up to 13000 MT, around 20 percent of existing fleet capacity. 

This would help VRL cater to demand in the near and medium terms. The new vehicles which will include prime movers and trailers too will be fitted with the latest in features and technology, thereby helping the company reduce its maintenance time, and better uptime.

Founded in 1976, VRL is a publicly listed company and one of India’s largest fleet owners of commercial vehicles in India. About 90 percent of its annual revenues comes from parcel delivery with pan-India last mile connectivity.