Why in the News?

India has shifted its EV policy focus from cars to trucks, launching a Rs. 500-crore PM E-DRIVE subsidy for 5,600 heavy-duty e-trucks to curb transport emissions.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• EV Policy Shift (Introduction, Background, Challenges, Electrifying Trucks, Policy Measures, Global Context, Future Outlook)

Introduction

• India’s electric mobility strategy is undergoing a significant pivot. While earlier policy efforts focused on promoting electric cars, the government is now prioritising the electrification of trucks.
• This change aims to tackle the disproportionate share of emissions from heavy-duty vehicles, which make up just 3% of India’s vehicle fleet but contribute over a third of transport-related carbon emissions.
• The new focus is backed by a 500-crore subsidy to support 5,600 electric trucks under the PM E-DRIVE scheme.

Background - From Electric Cars to Electric Trucks

• The turning point came in September 2024 when the PM E-DRIVE scheme was launched without subsidies for electric four-wheelers, unlike the earlier FAME programme.
• In August 2025, NITI Aayog reinforced this shift, noting that measuring India’s EV progress solely through car adoption is not suitable for a country where two-wheelers dominate and cars constitute only 13% of the vehicle fleet.
• While EV adoption in the two-wheeler segment has reached 6%, electric cars accounted for just 2% of total four-wheeler sales in 2024.
• This figure lags far behind global leaders such as China (47%), Europe (23%), and the US (10%).

Challenges with Electric Car Adoption

• Despite government incentives, tax waivers, falling battery costs, and supply chain development under the PLI scheme, electric car sales in India remain sluggish.
• High upfront costs, range anxiety, and low daily usage patterns for personal cars have limited adoption.
• Large cars over Rs. 10 lakh make up just 2% of the fleet, reducing the environmental impact of their electrification.
• The government launched the Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Electric Passenger Cars in 2024 to attract global automakers. However, uptake has been limited, with Tesla declining to set up manufacturing in India.

The Case for Electrifying Trucks

• Heavy-duty trucks are the backbone of India’s road transport system, but are also major polluters.
• They emit 34% of the transport sector’s CO₂ emissions and over half of particulate pollution, despite being only a small fraction of the fleet.
• Long-haul trucks, in particular, have been identified as critical for achieving significant reductions in greenhouse gases.
• Electric truck penetration is currently negligible, just 0.7% in 2024.
• Of the 8.34 lakh trucks sold that year, only 6,220 were electric, and just 280 had capacities above 3.5 tonnes.

Policy Measures and Incentives

• Under the PM E-DRIVE scheme, the Ministry of Heavy Industries is offering incentives of up to Rs. 9.6 lakh per heavy-duty e-truck to offset high capital costs.
• A special allocation is being made for 1,100 trucks registered in Delhi to address severe air pollution.
• In May 2025, the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser identified 10 high-potential zero-emission trucking routes, including:

• Chandigarh-Delhi-Jaipur
• Dhanbad-Kolkata-Haldia
• Bengaluru-Chennai-Villupuram
• Salem-Coimbatore-Kochi

Global Context - Learning from China

• China’s experience demonstrates the potential of electrifying freight. With 9% of heavy-duty trucks now electric, it is displacing over 1 million barrels of oil demand per day.
• India aims to replicate such impact, reducing both oil imports and urban air pollution.

Future Outlook - Building EV Infrastructure for Freight

• The success of India’s truck electrification drive will depend on:

• Rapid deployment of high-capacity charging stations along industrial corridors
• Financial incentives for fleet operators to transition
• Strengthening domestic manufacturing of e-trucks and batteries
• Policy support for green freight logistics under public-private partnerships

• If implemented effectively, this shift could position India as a leader in sustainable freight transport, delivering significant climate, health, and energy security benefits.