A year-long technical trial for commercialising electric trucks, launched from Chennai on World EV Day 2024, has reached a major milestone with the announcement of 1,000 electric trucks set for deployment across various freight routes in India.
The initiative was led by Ease of Doing Business (EoDB)—India’s premier tech piloting agency—under the Government of India’s National Highways for Electric Vehicles (NHEV) program. Building on earlier electric mobility trials of electric cars and buses on the Delhi-Agra (2020) and Delhi-Jaipur (2022) e-highways, this was the third major technical trial, conducted in partnership with Transvolt Mobility.
The trial brought together key stakeholders including policy-makers, financers, manufacturers, and logistics operators to evaluate the technical, operational, and financial feasibility of heavy-duty electric trucks.
₹500-Crore Climate Finance Instrument Key to Deployment
On August 1, 2025, EoDB launched a ₹500 crore blended climate finance instrument, inviting expressions of interest from stakeholders to support the deployment of electric trucks via Viability Gap Funding (VGF).
Originally intended to support the deployment of 720–810 electric trucks, the initiative exceeded expectations, reaching 1,000 trucks, thanks to strong stakeholder participation and confidence in the commercial and technical viability of the vehicles.
High-Level Endorsements and Financial Backing
Shri Sudhendu J. Sinha, Advisor at NITI Aayog, highlighted the significance of the initiative:
“Electric trucks have historically been major carbon emitters in surface transport. With PM E-DRIVE now covering electric trucks under its incentives, and private capital rapidly scaling up, India’s clean mobility trajectory is clearly on the right path.”
He also noted major recent investments in the sector, including a $57 million VGF under NHEV and a $20 million equity investment by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in Transvolt Mobility.
Shri Abhijeet Sinha, National Program Director at EoDB, said the trial created confidence among multiple stakeholders:
“Through extensive testing, interoperability, and financing trials, shippers, logistics providers, and truck lessees have developed confidence in electric trucks. Manufacturers and fleet operators are also working to reduce truck prices from ₹1.25 crore to ₹90 lakh, offering up to 10% lower logistics costs than diesel fleets.”
Deployment Scope and Strategic Integration
Transvolt Mobility, which will own and operate the 1,000 E-trucks, plans to deploy them across construction sites, mines, ports (both dry and wet), and key multimodal logistics corridors including the Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals (GCTs).
Shri Siddesh Rai, Vice President of Transvolt Mobility, added:
“These trucks will serve sectors such as cement, automobiles, coal, iron and steel, fertilisers, and petroleum. We’re also engaging PSUs and corporations interested in leasing electric heavy-duty vehicles.”
The announcement coincides with a spike in electric truck sales in August 2025, attributed to the ₹500 crore incentive scheme introduced by the Ministry of Heavy Industries in July under the PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE). This scheme offers upfront subsidies ranging from ₹2.7 lakh to ₹9.3 lakh per truck, boosting affordability.
Key Investments and MoU Signing
The MoU between NHEV and Transvolt Mobility for the deployment of 1,000 electric trucks was signed on World EV Day 2025 in New Delhi. This followed two major financial commitments:
IFC’s $20 million equity investment in Transvolt Mobility announced shortly after the PM E-DRIVE scheme launch.
₹500 crore blended climate finance from EoDB (backed by a ₹3,672 crore credit line from HDFC Bank) to support clean mobility projects under the NHEV program.
