ELECTRIC CVS ACCELERATE

The Covid-19 pandemic seems to have accelerated the shift to electric CVs.

- Bhushan Mhapralkar

In November 2020, a little known company called Infraprime Logistics announced that it is rolling out 1000 heavy-duty electric trucks post the successful run of its 55-tonne prototype. It stated that 12 of its e-trucks are already in operation on the Delhi-Jaipur highway with the support of two charging stations. A visit to what looks like a primitive website of the company, and it states that their e-trucks were developed in view of the real-time duty cycle and driving behaviour. If the pictures are any indication, the e-truck by Infraprime Logistics looks like it has a cabin and other aggregates borrowed from a Tata prime mover model. The older LPT range to be precise. Pointing at an attempt to retrofit a conventional truck – a 6x4 tractor-head of Tata make, with an electric powertrain and battery back (utilising the space behind the cab for the placement of an airconditioned battery stack), the e-truck is claimed to offer features like regeneration. The regeneration ability of the electric powertrain technology aboard the truck is said to contribute 25 percent of the duty cycle energy requirements. The e-truck, as per the company website, offers best-in-class energy consumption of 1.50 kWh per km. This amounts to 40 percent less than the industry anticipated mileage in such trucks since no other truck is currently in commercial operation, the website states.