Key Highlights
- Pune-based e-truck maker Blue Energy Motors and Murugappa Group’s Montra Electric are rolling out 55-tonne e-trucks that are compatible with battery swapping. These zero-emission commercial vehicles provide the right use-case for price parity between EVs and internal combustion engines (ICE) once the cost of the battery is removed from the equation, according to manufacturers and domain experts. As India races to decarbonize its massive freight sector, battery swapping could prove to be the silver bullet for heavy-duty electric trucks.
- This transition addresses the twin barriers of price parity and operational efficiency that have long stalled large-scale commercial EV adoption, potentially transforming the logistics industry from a top polluter into a leader in green mobility. Also Read | Govt set to exhaust subsidy for bigger electric 3-wheelers three months earlyCutting upfront cost and charging timeBattery swapping involves replacing depleted batteries in electric vehicles with pre-charged ones, reducing the time it takes to fully charge an EV.
- Models compatible with swapping do not come with a battery, making them much cheaper than regular EVs, since the battery generally accounts for nearly half the price of an EV.
- Heavy electric trucks above 12 tonnes in gross weight cost ₹1-1.5 crore on average, compared to ₹25-50 lakh for their diesel counterparts. Montra Electric’s chief business officer PV Satyanarayana said the company decided to build electric trucks with swappable batteries to reduce the massive price gap between ICE and EV trucks and to cut charging times for these large, commercial vehicles.“The more you sweat the asset, the more you lower the TCO (total cost of ownership).
- That's a very clear game,” said Satyanayana.
