Tata Motors picks 26pc stake in Bengaluru-based freight aggregator startup TruckEasy

The investment by Tata Motors gives TruckEasy the platform to scale up its presence rapidly from its current operations in Bengaluru city.

Tata Motors Finance Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Motors Limited, has picked up 26-percent stake in Bengaluru headquartered tech-based freight aggregator TruckEasy for an undisclosed amount. Founded by three entrepreneurs - Nikhil Thomas, Vikram Kodgi and Avinash Achar in 2015, the startup is owned by Loginomics Technologies Solutions Limited.

A release from Tata Motors stated, “This is part of Tata Motors’ continued endeavour of bringing smart solutions to enable the trucking community to have better lives and improve their livelihood.”

TruckEasy currently provides its service only in Bengaluru city using light commercial vehicles. The startup will use this investment from Tata Motors to expand its footprint to additional cities.

This strategic investment in TruckEasy will provide Tata Motors an insight into the rapidly growing technology-driven transformation in the freight logistics space and also get an understanding of the market dynamics in the intra-city freight movement.

According to the automobile major, this will also enable Tata Motors to stay closer to the final customer, the load consigner, thus enabling it to provide better products and solutions. The data analytics provided by TruckEasy will be further used for research and development, thereby allowing for better customisation of product specifications in line with market requirements.

On the investment, Girish Wagh, President –Commercial Vehicles Business Unit (CVBU), Tata Motors, said, “TruckEasy is promoting entrepreneurship amongst transporters and providing them with a stable income. The young startup has grown manifolds due to its partner-based module and its outstanding service to its customers. Through this investment from Tata Motors, TruckEasy will be able to access our wide network to grow the supply side and also to expand to multiple locations countrywide.”

Commenting on this strategic investment by Tata Motors, Nikhil Thomas, CEO –TruckEasy, said, “TruckEasy has been on a disciplined growth since its inception, having coverage all over Bangalore serving both the planned and unplanned business segments. Our plan is to expand to other cities and replicate the success we have in Bengaluru. With the entry of Tata Motors as an investor, a box of limitless opportunities has opened up. This would help us scale at a much faster pace.”