News Breakbulk & Project Cargo
strength . We will fully leverage this advantage to supply vehicles to Europe , Japan , the Middle East , Africa , Central and South America [ and ] Asian countries .”
Urgent need to invest
Still , the ro / ro trade “ remains underrated in India ,” according to a senior Indian executive at a major car carrier .
“ There ’ s a lot of ‘ catch up ’ to do to make OEMs more export-oriented ,” the source said , adding that India lacks dedicated ro / ro terminals , which could hold back progress .
“ With the container business increasingly prioritized by Indian ports , including multipurpose gateways , ro / ro vessels face significant berthing delays and other bottlenecks ,” said an industry source who did not want to be identified . “ Ro / ro cargo is a niche activity requiring specialized infrastructure support , which is limited at the moment .”
The source called for further investment in port infrastructure and shipping capacity to accommodate rising volumes of Indian-made vehicles heading to markets worldwide .
The exit of US auto giants General Motors in 2017 and Ford Motor in 2021 over sales and labor troubles dealt a heavy blow to the Indian auto industry , wiping out an annual 250,000 units for ro / ro carriers . Other entrants have filled the hole , including South Korea ’ s Kia Motors , with industry exports now pegged at 650,000 cars and aiming for 1 million units over the next two to three years .
NYK Line , “ K ” Line , MOL , Hoegh Autoliners , Hyundai Glovis and EUKOR Car Carriers dominate the Indian ro / ro
“ India will be a production hub for electric vehicles . Scale in India is our strength .”
market , primarily serving Maruti Suzuki , Hyundai Motor , Volkswagen , Nissan Motor and Honda Cars for their export flows . MOL and Glovis together represent approximately 50 % of India ’ s vehicle carrier market .
email : bencymathew @ gmail . com
www . joc . com March 2025 | Journal of Commerce 21