Subscribe
India will need approximately 9 GW of charging capacity by 2030 to support the growing demand for electric trucks.
The PM E-DRIVE scheme offers incentives for e-trucks, aiming to enhance green logistics and reduce emissions.
States have been identified for infrastructure planning, crucial for India's Net Zero by 2070 goal.
India will require around 9 gigawatts (GW) of charging capacity to meet the projected demand for electric trucks (e-truck), according to a study by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). The estimated charging capacity is equivalent to five times Delhi’s current power generation capacity.
According to a July 2025 report by CareEdge, the number of public EV charging stations till the early months of financial year 2024-25 was 26,367 and the country currently has around one charger for every 235 electric vehicles on the road.
With an outlay of Rs 500 crore of total Rs 10,900 crore under the PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (E-DRIVE), India notified guidelines for the e-truck incentive scheme in July 2025, providing an upfront discount of up to Rs 9.6 lakh per e-truck, applied as a price reduction and reimbursed to manufacturers via the PM E-DRIVE portal.
The scheme targets N2 and N3 category trucks (3.5-55 tonnes gross vehicle weight) and requires scrapping of old diesel trucks, with a 5-year battery and 5-year or 2.5 lakh km vehicle / motor warranty. It aims to promote green logistics, reduce emissions and improve air quality by encouraging the adoption of electric trucks.
ICCT’s report Charging infrastructure needed to support India’s full transition to battery electric truck by 2050 assessed depot and highway charging needs for medium- and heavy-duty battery e-trucks in India, estimating charger requirements for 2030 and 2050 and mapping state-level demand using road-freight traffic data.
Five states — Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh — sit along critical freight and logistics corridors, including the Golden Quadrilateral and the Delhi–Mumbai and Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridors, making them priority hubs for early infrastructure planning and investment.
Given state-level control over key levers such as land, tariffs and grid capacity, a state-level assessment of charging needs is critical for effective planning.
While viable technologies exist, timely truck decarbonisation is crucial to ease pressure on harder-to-abate sectors. India’s Net Zero by 2070 pledge requires achieving 100 per cent zero-emission truck sales by 2050.
Recent policies, including fuel efficiency regulations and the PM E-DRIVE scheme, provide incentives for battery e-trucks and charging infrastructure, but high-power chargers along freight corridors and logistics hubs can help to ensure adoption, stated the report launched at the India Clean Transportation Summit in New Delhi on August 25, 2025.
The report made some policy recommendations:
Develop national- and state-level charging infrastructure roadmaps
Coordinate grid planning for high-capacity truck charging
Bridge data gaps in trucking movement through modern data systems
Integrate battery electric truck charging in freight and logistics planning frameworks
“Manufacturing is fast emerging as a key strength of India’s automotive sector, especially in advanced technologies like batteries," said Hanif Qureshi, additional secretary, Union Ministry of Heavy Industries, at the conference, speaking on the ministry’s role in steering clean freight through policy reforms and financing strategies.
"While industry is best positioned to choose the most effective clean transportation solutions, we are committed to enabling this transition through policy support, demand incentives and initiatives that strengthen India’s EV ecosystem," he added.
Qureshi further said that India’s focus on localisation and indigenisation significantly strengthens its automobile manufacturing ecosystem. The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the automobile sector, launched in 2021, aimed to attract Rs 42,000 crore in investments. As of now, Rs 26,000–27,000 crore has already been invested, with the remaining expected in the next two years. This push has helped bring down average manufacturing costs, making India an increasingly competitive hub for automobile production.
Recognising that batteries make up nearly 40 per cent of an electric vehicle’s cost, the government also rolled out a Rs 80,000 crore PLI scheme for advanced chemistry cell battery manufacturing. "While the scheme officially targets 50 GWh of production capacity by 2029, industry responses indicate that more than 100 GWh may be achieved, including contributions from companies outside the incentive programme. These initiatives are not just about subsidies — they aim to build a robust domestic supply chain, supported by both financial incentives and evolving regulatory frameworks," he added.