Govt rushes to find demand for electric trucks under PM E-Drive after bare FY25

The ₹500 crore, two-year scheme for e-trucks is set to end in fiscal year 2026 (FY26).

At the end of the first year, there has been no progress on e-trucks, and the government is yet to notify the localization norms for these zero-emission vehicles at a time when the industry has asked for 18 months to comply.

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Ports have multiple use cases for electric trucks, including the movement of cargo within the port facility. Similarly, the cement, steel and logistics sectors rely on trucks for the movement of cargo across the country.

The government's efforts to mobilize e-trucks come at a time when the ₹10,900 crore PM E-Drive scheme has completed half its runtime in FY25. This gives the government only another fiscal to incentivize automakers and consumers to adopt electric mobility in the commercial vehicle segment.

Under the PM E-Drive scheme—the Centre's third electric vehicle (EV) subsidy scheme—automakers sell EVs to consumers at a discount, and the government reimburses the difference.

The scheme is the first in which the government has considered sunrise sectors such as public transportation and trucks.

But reducing carbon emissions in trucks has not been without hurdles. The government had stated in the PM E-Drive scheme notification that it would notify the phased manufacturing programme (PMP) for e-trucks at a later stage. PMP means localization norms.

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But, one year into the scheme, the government has not notified the PMP for e-trucks. In previous consultations regarding e-trucks, manufacturers had asked the government for a window to ensure compliance with the PMP.

Mint had reported in November that stakeholders had asked for an 18-month window to comply with the PMP for e-trucks, a first for such vehicles, whenever it is issued.

There were 6,158 electric goods carriers—the category of trucks on the government’s Vahan portal—sold in 2024, compared with 2,603 such units the year before, indicating a rapidly growing market.

Of this, in the heavy goods carrier segment in 2024, Chinese manufacturer BYD sold 82 units out of a total of 224 units—more than a third. In 2023, BYD sold 268 such units out of a total of 326 units sold—a whopping 82% share—indicating a dominant presence of the Chinese in the sector.

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As per the scheme notification, the government had planned a ₹150 crore allocation towards e-truck subsidies in FY25, the first year of the PM E-Drive scheme, with the remaining ₹350 crore earmarked for FY26. But no incentives have been disbursed yet.