Shortage of car carriers to ferry passenger cars from factory to dealers hurt OEMs
At any point in time, nearly 2,000 carriers are off the road due to mechanical issues. However, since September 22, very few have been idle
The GST 2.0 reform from September 22 triggered a surge in demand for new passenger cars, which became significantly cheaper. However, this spurt has created a shortage of car carriers to ferry new vehicles from factories to dealers across India.
There are around 15,000 car carriers operating in the market, each capable of hauling 6 to 8 vehicles , depending on their size and model. At any point in time, nearly 2,000 carriers are off the road due to mechanical issues. However, since September 22, very few were idle, allowing OEMs to deliver vehicles on time, said sources.
Rising demand
Dharmvir Sharma, Managing Director of Chennai-based ICM Logistics Pvt Ltd, which operates about 550 car carriers, said that until September 21, dispatches from OEMs were very slow. However, from September 22, there was a huge demand from them. A few OEMs are offering huge incentives to transporters to clear their piled-up stock, he said.
Some OEMs should have offered incentives to logistics companies before September 22 to secure carrier availability. However, they did not do that, said Sachin JKS haritasH, Director of the Delhi-based Chetak Group, which has a fleet of around 800 car carriers. Instead, few began offering incentives after September 26, when things got complicated, he added.
There was a lack of planning during the transition phase, and they are struggling now, he said.
Delivery rush
Due to the shortage of car carriers, Mahindra & Mahindra plans to double its train movements to 100 for transporting new vehicles across the country, said Baneswar Banerjee, the company’s Vice President and National Sales Head of the Auto Division.
“We had planned an offtake during the Shradh period in collaboration with our dealer partners, anticipating demand. This has supported customer deliveries during the festival period so far,” said Amit Kamat, Chief Commercial Officer, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd.
Published on October 8, 2025
