Commercial vehicle workshps are facing a growing challenge in attracting and retaining technicians as gig-economy jobs compete for the same manpower, even as trucks and buses become more complex to repair, according to S S Gill, Chief Commercial Officer at VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV).
A typical technician at a commercial vehicle workshop earns around ₹20,000-30,000 a month, with some earning around ₹40,000, Gill said at FADA’s Auto Retail Conclave. But workshops are increasingly competing with jobs in sectors such as food delivery, where workers may be willing to accept slightly lower pay for what they see as easier work.
“Some of them are even competing with the Swiggys and Zomatos. The guy says, ‘I am okay with ₹5,000 less and it’s an easier job,’” Gill said.
The manpower challenge is becoming more acute as the number of technologies a technician is expected to understand continues to expand.
A workshop today may have to service older BS3 and BS4 trucks alongside BS6 vehicles, OBD-equipped models, CNG and LNG trucks and, increasingly, electric vehicles.
According to Gill, OEMs will have to play a larger role in simplifying diagnostics, providing digital support and continuously upgrading technician skills.
Dealer-level training gathers pace
VECV has been working with dealers to decentralise training as the need for frequent reskilling increases.
Gill said some of its dealer partners have started what the company calls “Gurukul” centres at their dealerships, which act as smaller training facilities for reskilling and upgrading technicians.
“Gone are those days when the competence used to only happen in one place,” he said.
The company has also recently set up an uptime centre, where it is running an innovation lab aimed at making technicians’ jobs easier and improving workshop processes.
Gill said this is increasingly an OEM responsibility. Dealers may provide the infrastructure, people, tools, and working capital, while manufacturers need to help ensure those resources are used efficiently.
More Critical Aftersales
The need for stronger workshop capability is particularly important in commercial vehicles, where the majority of the interaction between a customer and dealership takes place after the sale.
Gill said a large fleet customer buying around 100 trucks may interact with the dealership only four or five times during the purchase process. The same customer could, however, interact with the dealer 400-600 times during the aftersales life of those vehicles.
The shift from BS4 to BS6 was a major turning point for workshops because it brought significantly higher levels of electronics, electrical systems and exhaust after-treatment technology into commercial vehicles.
Gill said dealers have had to repeatedly change their processes to keep pace.
VECV dealer partners have modified workshop processes several times over the past seven years as the company has worked to improve vehicle uptime, he added.
Uptime takes centre stage
Uptime has become one of the most important measures for commercial vehicle customers because every hour a truck spends off the road directly affects the operator’s earnings.
Gill said this is also changing how OEMs and dealers invest in workshops.
Dealership infrastructure may be owned or rented and carries a cost throughout the year. The focus therefore needs to shift towards using those assets more efficiently rather than simply adding more infrastructure.
“How can an OEM make the life of that technician easier?” Gill said, adding that digital processes, training and technical support could allow dealerships to improve uptime without proportionately increasing costs.
The shift also requires the relationship between manufacturers and dealers to evolve.
A more equal dealer-OEM relationship
Gill said trust and transparency should continue to form the foundation of the dealer-OEM relationship, but dealers and manufacturers need to be more willing to challenge each other as the business changes.
He compared it with the evolution of a long-term partnership, where decision-making becomes more equal over time.
That means dealers should be able to question OEMs on issues such as infrastructure investments and processes, provided the objective is to improve customer experience and profitability.
“Ability to challenge each other — challenge for the right purpose, challenge for the customer… challenge for maybe better infrastructure,” he said.
For VECV, the emphasis is on maintaining long-standing relationships. Gill pointed to dealership associations that go back to the Eicher Tractor era and now extend into their third generation.
He said such partnerships have to be built around customer profitability and long-term sustainability rather than short-term decisions.
CV market outlook remains positive
The pressure on aftersales capacity comes as India’s commercial vehicle market continues to grow strongly.
Gill described the industry as being “on fire”, saying demand has been stronger than many forecasts.
He expects replacement demand to remain healthy, while mining and construction activity should pick up after the monsoon. Festive demand, depreciation-led purchases and government fleet-modernisation programmes could provide additional support.
“There are many positives both in trucks and in buses,” Gill said.
While growth may moderate because of the higher base, he said the commercial vehicle market could still record double-digit growth in the second half.
“It may not be that crazy high, but it could definitely touch double digit even in H2, even with a higher base effect,” Gill said.
As commercial vehicle volumes rise and the mix of powertrains becomes more complex, the ability of dealerships to retain and continuously train technicians is likely to become increasingly important to maintaining the uptime fleet operators expect.
(With inputs from Kiran Murali, Anurag Chaturvedi, Prerna Lidhoo, Ketan Thakkar and Mugdha Mishra)