In September this year, India implemented the PM E-DRIVE scheme with an outlay of ₹10,900 crore over one-and-a-half years. This is a follow-on to the erstwhile FAME II scheme. And a welcome addition is the truck segment, which is given a budget of ₹500 crore. The benefits of truck electrification are many.
A life-cycle assessment by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) shows that electric trucks provide more greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions than trucks powered by diesel, liquefied natural gas, biofuels, and fuel cell technologies.
Supporting e-trucks with purchase incentives is important because at present they cost about four times more than diesel trucks. A typical e-truck is 65 per cent more fuel efficient than a comparable diesel truck, and a recent study has estimated that e-trucks would reach parity with diesel trucks in terms of total cost of ownership (TCO) within the next five years. With fiscal incentives such as purchase subsidies, toll…