Govt Unveils ₹500 Cr Scheme to Drive Growth of Electric Trucks

The Indian government has introduced an ambitious subsidy of 500 crores to be given to industries in order to speed up the transition to electric trucks; it is touted as the most ambitious step to decarbonise industrial logistics. This plan is included in the wider 10,900 crore PM E drive plan in a bid to directly combat such industry sectors with high emissions like the steel, cement logistics, and port sectors, which are not yet switched to electric trucks because of the high costs.

Unveiled by Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries, HD Kumaraswamy, the scheme will cover 5,643 electric trucks in the N2 and N3 categories (3.5 to 55 tonnes), offering subsidies from ₹2.9 lakh to ₹9.3 lakh per vehicle based on battery capacity and ex-factory pricing. “Sail will procure 150 electric trucks over the next two years,” Kumaraswamy stated. “We will also make it mandatory for all our units that at least 15% of the total number of hired vehicles must be electric.”

Eligible buyers must present a vehicle scrappage certificate, reinforcing the policy’s dual focus on fleet electrification and pollution control. Mandatory warranty clauses—5 years/5,00,000 km for batteries and 5 years/2,50,000 km for motors and vehicles—will ensure sustained performance standards.

The policy should spur demand of EV truck manufacturing leaders such as Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, VE Commercial Vehicles, Olectra Greentech, Propel Industries, and IPLTech Electric. The scheme aims to be a part of India zero-emission freight ecosystem since Delhi alone has a budget of 100 crore on 1,100 e-trucks.