News / India's auto boom provides opportunity for Intra-Asia carriers

Intra-Asia carriers predominantly operating out of India have thrived on Asian imports into the subcontinent as manufacturing diversifies in the region.

India’s automobile industry has rapidly expanded in recent years, already ranking third in market size and fourth in production capacity, driving significant cargo opportunities for both container lines and ro-ro operators.

The latest cargo sweetener: India’s leading automaker, Mahindra & Mahindra, has won a large export order from Indonesia. State-owned Indonesian enterprise PT Agrinas Pangas Nusantara (Persero) wants some 35,000 finished vehicles this year, opening a wave of shipments out of India.

Persero has the government mandate to lead the country’s national food sovereignty through a network of co-operative entities, locally known as Koperasi, according to available information.

“The volume committed for this partnership will significantly boost our international operations, adding as much as our total export volumes achieved in fiscal year 2025,” said Nalinikanth Gollagunta, CEO automotive at Mahindra.

Mahindra is not alone among Indian automakers in eyeing orders from Indonesia. Tata Motors is also reportedly in talks with Persero to supply trucks, some 160,000, and motorbikes.

“These large auto export orders could generate a windfall of cargo bookings,” one intra-Asia carrier executive told The Loadstar. “We are already on the prowl for that trade.”

As the auto production plants for Mahindra and Tata are in the east-western parts of India, the ports of Mundra, Nhava Sheva, and Pipavav are expected to be the most preferred gateways for those volumes, industry sources believe.

“These vehicles are tailored to meet the operating requirements of Koperasi – from rough rural roads to farm tracks,” Mahindra added.

Auto shipments have been a lucrative source of cargo for container lines, with Indian finished vehicles for Asia, Africa, and Latin America climbing dramatically in recent years.

Calls at Surabaya and Jakarta in Indonesia have featured in multiple South-east Asia-India networks added by carriers, including Cosco and Interasia Lines, recently.

One example:  the SE1, on a rotation of Nhava Sheva-Port Klang-Singapore-Surabaya-Jakarta-Nhava Sheva, launched with three mid-size ships and claims transit times of 10 days to Surabaya and 13 to Jakarta, from Nhava Sheva.

Wan Hai, PIL, RCL, and TS Lines are the other more active intra-Asia carriers for Indian trades.

Two-way trade between India and Indonesia by value was estimated at some $28bn in fiscal year 2024-25, and both sides have pledged to expand bilateral trade volumes to $50bn soon, available data indicates.