“Diesel trucks, though constituting only 3 per cent of the total vehicle population, contribute to 42 per cent of transport-related greenhouse gas emissions and significantly worsen air pollution. This pioneering scheme represents India’s first dedicated support for electric trucks. It will drive our nation toward sustainable freight mobility, a cleaner future, and the realization of Viksit Bharat by 2047, in alignment with our net-zero emissions goal by 2070,” Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel Kumaraswamy said.
New Delhi: Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Friday launched the first scheme to provide customer facing incentives on purchase of electric trucks of up to Rs 9.6 lakh per vehicle as part of the government’s PM E-DRIVE initiative, which has earmarked Rs 500 crore for electric trucks out of its Rs 10,900 crore outlay.
Industries including ports, logistics, cement and steel will be the key beneficiaries of the scheme, which envisages support of up to 5,600 electric trucks.
“Diesel trucks, though constituting only 3 per cent of the total vehicle population, contribute to 42 per cent of transport-related greenhouse gas emissions and significantly worsen air pollution. This pioneering scheme, guided by the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, represents India’s first dedicated support for electric trucks. It will drive our nation toward sustainable freight mobility, a cleaner future, and the realization of Viksit Bharat by 2047, in alignment with our net-zero emissions goal by 2070,” Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel Kumaraswamy said.
Later, in a post on X, the minister said this effort will also boost Make in India, encourage localisation, reduce logistics cost, and create green jobs across EV and battery value chains.
“Alongside the progress in e-2W, e-3W and the tender for 10,900 e-buses (India’s largest), this marks another milestone in our Viksit Bharat 2047 journey. I urge all stakeholders, transporters, OEMs, and industries to join us in this transformative shift toward sustainable mobility,” Kumaraswamy said.
The scheme reserves incentives for approximately 1,100 e-trucks registered in Delhi, which will address the air quality concerns in the national capital. An approximate outlay of Rs 100 crore has been earmarked for this, officials said.
Scrapping of old polluting trucks is mandatory to avail incentives for e-trucks.
“To promote affordability, the incentive will depend on the gross vehicle weight of the electric truck and highest level of incentive that can be availed is Rs 9.6 lakh. These incentives will be provided as an upfront reduction in the purchase price and reimbursed to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) through the PM E-DRIVE portal on a first-come, first-served basis,” the Ministry of Heavy Industries stated.