India - The Indian commercial vehicle (CV) industry has come to be dominated by a few traditional manufacturers after decades of relative isolation, and it is this that has been the driving factor for them to focus on building low cost technological products best suited to the demands of the Indian marketplace. Heightened awareness of environmental concerns, rising energy costs, rising demand for energy efficient technologies, and pressure by the Indian government through legislation for manufacturers to meet ever stricter levels of emissions control, is collectively propelling the country towards an electric vehicle society, including that of the commercial vehicle industry.

In 2017, India’s Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari surprised the world automobile industry when he announced that he intended for India to move to 100% electric cars by 2030. However, two years on and that target was modified to 30% of all vehicles to be electric by 2030 with emphasis placed on the volume two and three wheeler market segment. This is because, according to RACE, of the on-road vehicle population, as 83% of India’s current vehicle population is made up of motorbikes (80%) and three wheelers (3%), the remainder is cars (13%) and commercial vehicles account for just 4%. However, the commercial vehicle sector such as trucks and buses, whilst it represents only 4% of the vehicles on the road, India’s CV fleet account for more than 60% of the total fuel consumed, says RACE. It is therefore seen as a priority to introduce full electric vehicles and vehicles powered by clean / cleaner alternative fuels to reduce emission concerns.