All trucks sold in India starting in 2025 will have air-conditioned driver cabins, Nitin Gadkari, the country’s transport minister said while addressing an auto-event.
According to Indian media reports, exhaustion is one of the key contributing factors to accidents, this would not only give truck drivers a break but also reduce incidents.
According to government statistics on traffic accidents, truck crashes claimed the lives of 9,382 persons in 2021, including bicycles, two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and car occupants.
Gadkari remarked at an auto industry event in the nation’s capital of New Delhi earlier this week, “While I wanted to introduce air conditioners in driver compartments the day I took charge, some automakers opposed the move, claiming it would increase costs.”
“Our drivers operate vehicles in harsh temperatures of 43 to 47 degree Celsius inside the cabin. Also, truck drivers in India drive for 14 to 16 hours a day on average,” he said.
In India, most trucks operating on the roads are produced by local manufacturers who have not widely implemented air-conditioned cabins for their commercial vehicles. International truck manufacturers like Volvo and Scania do provide air-conditioning, but their presence in the Indian market is limited due to the higher expenses involved.
As per industry captains, the inclusion of air conditioning (AC) units in the driver cabins of trucks might lead to a price hike of around 1 to 2% for commercial vehicles. They suggest that while the productivity of drivers may improve with the installation of AC, the overall cost of the vehicles would also rise due to this requirement.