German logistics major DHL today announced additional investments on top of the already committed Euro 250 million, in a specially created trucking company.
The company aims to have 3,500 trucks by 2020 and take it up to 10,000 in a decade, but declined to give details of the investments which would be ploughed-in.
"India is a focus market for us and we will be investing as much as needed," the chief executive for DHL Ecommerce in India, Malcolm Monteiro, told reporters.
The company's investment plan of Euro 250 million, which envisages creating facilities like warehousing, is going on track and the investment into the trucking company is over and beyond the announced plan, he explained.
The company announced launch of an asset-heavy trucking company, DHL Smartrucking, promising to deliver on time and save costs using technological tools, better fleet of trucks and manning the cabin with two drivers.
The newly formed arm's chief executive Neeraj Bansal said it is necessary to go for the asset heavy model that relies on ownership of trucks in order to deliver the quality of the service.
Also Read
When asked if the market is ready to pay the premium that it may charge, Monteiro replied in the affirmative and claimed that the value proposition will make the clients pay.
He gave the example of perishables, pointing to a company estimate, saying USD 8 billion worth of goods are damaged annually in India.
"Owning is crucial to defend the market positioning," H C Jurgen Gerdes, a member of its global board, said.
He said the company will take at least two months to decide on whether it should introduce the electric vehicle (EV) trucks into India, adding that at present, it is concentrating on the German and European market for this.
Monteiro said the company is targeting to widen its service network to cover all the 19,000 pin codes in the country by the end of the year.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content