E-truck buyers skip PM E-Drive scheme

August saw record sales of 73 e-trucks, yet not one got any incentive under the PM E-Drive scheme

- Manas Pimpalkhare

India's electric trucking push is off to a faltering start. August saw record sales of 73 e-trucks, yet not one got any incentive under the government's flagship green mobility scheme, PM E-Drive. Nearly two months after guidelines were notified, the ₹500-crore corpus earmarked for zero-emission trucks remains untouched, even though the vehicles were classified as a sunrise sector with subsidies planned for over 5,600 units.

Industry executives cite the mandate of scrapping certificates as a key hurdle to manufacturers in claiming incentives for e-truck purchases. And here is why the success of this scheme matters—diesel trucks comprise just 3% of India's vehicle fleet but contribute nearly a third to the country's carbon emissions.