Govt meets industry to accelerate rollout of electric buses and trucks

NEW DELHI: The Union heavy industries ministry on Wednesday held a meeting with electric bus and truck makers, fleet operators as well as banks to identify challenges in rolling out these vehicles in the private sector.

The consultation was held to understand operational realities, encourage faster adoption of electric buses and trucks, and strengthen collaboration between the government and private stakeholders, the ministry said in a statement.

Electric buses are set to become the backbone of passenger transport in India, while electric trucks will transform sustainable logistics and freight movement, heavy industries minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said in the statement.

Senior representatives of public and private sector banks including SBI, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India and HDFC, Sidbi, bus and truck operators, including associations such as the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), and South India Motor Transport Association, among others, were part of the deliberations.

According to experts, accelerating the adoption of electric public and freight transport represents the next major phase of India’s clean mobility transition. India also needs to scale up its electric vehicle charging infrastructure in line with the rollout of new e-trucks and e-buses. “This is especially important because electric commercial vehicles run on very large batteries, which need rapid charging, effectively putting pressure on the power grid,” said Shyamasis Das, fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, a New-Delhi based think-tank.

The ministry is working on a new scheme to create better credit opportunities for private sector e-bus and e-truck operators, it said in an earlier statement on 29 April. To be sure, e-trucks and e-buses are 2-2.5x more expensive than their diesel counterparts.

Mint reported first about such a scheme in January this year, which is expected to be rolled out in the next 6-12 months.

Key support mechanisms under consideration included partial credit guarantee schemes to de-risk lending by financial institutions, as well as interest subvention mechanisms aimed at reducing the cost of borrowing for private sector buyers, the ministry said.

Private sector focus

The private sector assumes importance here, as it operates about 90% of India’s two million buses, and their electrification could significantly reduce the country’s reliance on oil imports.

The work on supporting the rollout of e-trucks and e-buses comes after Prime minister Narendra Modi appealed to the masses to increase electric vehicle (EV) adoption to reduce India’s near-90% dependence on crude oil imports, as the war in West Asia has put pressure on India’s balance of payments.

The government’s flagship electric vehicle programmes—including FAME, PM E-Drive, and PLI-Auto — have offered incentives aimed at lowering the upfront cost of electric buses. The PM E-Drive scheme has also earmarked ₹500 crore from its ₹10,900-crore outlay for electric trucks. However, these incentives for electric buses were limited to government-operated fleets.