The Largest Fleet Owner of Commercial Vehicles in India - VRL Group

 

Hello ladies & gentlemen!

This week we are going to have a look at an organization, which entered into Limca book of records for having the largest fleet of commercial vehicles in the private sector in India, the VRL group.

Now if you are wondering why I chose this particular transport company is because, I was one of their regular customers for around 3 years, using both their cargo and passenger services. As my previous job involved traveling around the country, mostly it was through their Volvo multi-axle sleeper a/c buses. Also whenever I had to courier huge loads of documents weighing more than 50 kgs, I used their logistics services as they were economical. Most importantly, when it came to rest stops during travel, VRL had its own rest stops across the country, where you can have hygienic food and clean lavatory services.

So who is this VRL group? 

Formerly known as Vijayanand Roadlines Ltd is an Indian conglomerate founded in 1976 by DR. Vijay Sankeshwar in Gadag, a small town in North Karnataka with a single truck and a vision that was way ahead of its time. VRL gradually expanded its services to Bangalore, Hubli, and Belgaum. From this beginning, VRL has grown into a nationally renowned logistics and transport company which is also currently the largest fleet owner of commercial vehicles in India with a fleet of 4835 Vehicles (Including 362 Passenger Transport Vehicles & 4473 Goods Transport Vehicles amongst others).

Over the years, VRL has pioneered in providing a safe and reliable delivery network in the field of parcel service. It has spread its operations to Courier Service, Priority Cargo & Air Chartering to meet the growing demands of its burgeoning customer base.

3PL & Warehousing solutions offered by VRL are tailor-made and cater to the unique needs of its diverse customer base. With the largest goods transportation network in India, VRL parcel service is indispensable for a large number of Corporate Houses. This network spans the length and breadth of the country and is supported by strategically located transshipment hubs. They operate through a network of 931 Branches and franchisees catering to valuable customers and are now in the process of expanding their services to reach even the remotest locations of the country.

VRL is currently headquartered in Hubbali, Karnataka, and has 40 hubs and transport yards across the country. The headquarters has an effluent treatment plant (capacity=175,000 liters), a rainwater harvesting plant, a petrol bunk (allotted by Indian Oil Corporation), and a garage service complex, where VRL’s trucks pass through in the fleet, once in every two weeks.

Their cargo and courier services are now operative in 23 states across India, handling over approx 216 million cargos/year. Their travel business is the largest in Maharashtra and Karnataka having more than 80 branches and 1000 agents. They own 1550 buses (including 742 Volvo buses), covering 6 states across 350 routes in the country. VRL also offers jet aircraft charters to sectors like corporate, leisure and tourism, and also VIP category flights.

They also have a flagship entity called Vijayavani, which is currently the largest circulated newspaper in Karnataka, alongside is a Kannada news channel called Digvijaya news which is also run by them.

Though the recent pandemic has made them scrap 15% of their fleet, they are currently operating at 75% of their capacity. Pharmaceutical and Farming are the sectors that are improving whereas sectors like textile and automobile have gone weak.

Adios, Amigo!

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VRL_Group

-Varadharaju R