Volvo Trucks India partner logistics supplier Delhivery for a modern transport solution

Both companies to test and deploy an articulated Volvo FM 4x2 solution for express operations, addressing challenges of speedy delivery and cost efficiencies of services. The Express cargo movement through trailers of higher capacities of around 93 cum, maintains an average running of over 20 hours a day and 3,00,000 km in a year. 

Taking steps towards modern logistics solutions by reducing the logistics cost of the country, Volvo Trucks is working towards better transport solutions that will help faster turn-around time, higher uptime of the trucks, safer and comfortable trucks that will enable the driver to deliver increased productivity.

The logistics industry needs trucks that will set benchmarks in vehicle uptime, reliability, load-carrying capacity, and running km per year to meet the e-commerce business's demands. With the changing ground realities, the logistics industry is gearing up for new opportunities, which will revolutionize the long haul transport industry.

Volvo Trucks is launching modern trucks running on European roads, which are considered to be the most efficient logistic systems in the world, now customizing them for Indian operating conditions.

These custom-built solutions will enhance the efficiency of the Express cargo movement through trailers of higher capacities of around 93 cum, maintaining an average running of over 20 hours a day and 3,00,000 km in a year. These Tractor Trailers will revolutionize the industry by delivering efficiency and productivity, which is more than double compared to the current range of Tractors in India. 

Speaking on this initiative, Vinod Aggarwal, managing director & CEO, VE Commercial Vehicles, said, "Turn-around and efficiency is the focus in these trucks. When you have a high performance, highly reliable and driver-friendly truck, it brings out the best man machine performance. The Volvo FM 4x2 solution has a comfortable cabin along with a superior clutch free driveline, that enables effortlessly driving for about 20 hours with a set of drivers. Telematics ensures that exhaustive data is captured, analysed and correction happens throughout the trucks journey. The reduced delivery time helps customers to fulfil their business goal of Delhivery to their customers in the shortest possible time, substantially reducing order cancellations. Thanks to the clarifications from MORTH we can use Interchangeability on Trailers which can further accelerate higher productivity. We are building a vital link in the logistic chain. We have seen productivity improving by up to 20%."

"We would also like to compliment MORTH for the recent GSR on RoadTrains which will be a game changer for India. Volvo Trucks are pioneers in road trains and have a vast global experience and we hope to improve the logistic efficiency of the country while maintaining safe standards", Aggarwal added. 

Sahil Barua, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Delhivery said" I'm proud to announce that as we emerge from this pandemic stronger, we are building some of India's largest trucking terminals at key locations in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore while expanding and upgrading our own fleet and bringing in more partner fleets. Our partnership with Volvo and the first deployment of Tractor-Trailers in Express Trucking is a significant step towards "Getting Future Ready."

Per-Erik Lindstrom, Senior Vice President - Volvo Trucks International, said," India has caught up with the global standards of transport efficiency and the time is now. Countries like China and a few other south-east Asian countries, which were similar to India, a few years ago, changed from rigid trucks to high performance and higher capacity tractor trailer concepts. We at Volvo Trucks will continue to lead innovations in products and services thereby raising the bar further." 

Collaborative Approach 

Delhivery, at present in India, operates one of the largest surface fleet networks in the country across 17,500+ pin codes and 2300+ cities, towns, and villages every day. Its trucks cover over 500,000 Km across the country every day. With this customized design solution, Delhivery and Volvo Trucks have come together to test and deploy in India. It is an articulated solution to express operations that address the critical challenges of speed and cost of services. The new fleet was inducted into Delhivery's operations towards the end of 2019 and has operated successfully on long haul lanes for the past nine months. 

This fleet covers over 20,000 Km per vehicle per month, which is significantly higher than industry benchmarks and its own network average. We cannot overstate the importance of safety when it comes to trucking. 

The emphasis on Comfort, Ease of Driving and Safety in this vehicle has been critical in enabling its crews to carry out this movement reliably day in and day out. The company expects a significant shift to larger tractor-trailers in the Express trucking industry, based on the success of this pilot. This will only lead to fewer vehicles on the road, lesser fuel consumed to ship cargo, and, subsequently, a lower cost of shipping for the end customer.

Also Read: Volvo Trucks FMX and FM range in India- Full Details