According to a recent notification from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), all trucks built after October 2025 are required to have air conditioning cabins for drivers. Trucks classified as N2 and N3 will be covered by the gazette notice, which was published on Friday night.
As stated in the Times of India, the MoRTH’s notification stated that “vehicles manufactured on or after October 1, 2025 shall be fitted with an air-conditioning system for the cabin of vehicles of N2 and N3 category.”
Which are N2 and N3 category vehicles: Explained
Category N2: Means a motor vehicles used for carriage of goods and having a Gross vehicle Weight exceeding 3.5 tons but not exceeding 12 tons.
Category N3: Means a motor vehicle used for carriage of goods and having a Gross vehicle Weight exceeding 12 tons.
Earlier this year, a draft notification was issued by MoRTH that mandated the installation of air conditioning systems in the cabins of motor vehicles belonging to N2 and N3 categories albeit from an earlier date of January 1, 2025.
The draft notification read, “Provided further that vehicles manufactured on or after 1st January 2025 shall be fitted with an air conditioning system for the cabin of vehicles of N2 and N3 category. The testing of the cabin fitted with air-conditioning system shall be as per IS14618:2022, as amended from time to time,” stated the draft notification.
The opinions of Nitin Gadkari regarding air-conditioned trucks:
Prior to this, Nitin Gadkari, the minister of transport, emphasized the critical role that truck drivers play in the nation’s transportation industry while also emphasizing the need to address concerns about their working conditions.
Lamenting that truck drivers have been forced to work in extreme heat conditions, the minister had earlier said that he has been pushing for air-conditioned cabins for truck drivers for a long time even as “some people objected to it saying it will increase costs.”
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