How can India Attain Zero-emission Trucking With Electrification?

ISSUE BRIEF

India's Road to Zero-emission Trucking

Tracking Early Electrification Efforts

15 May, 2025 | Sustainable Mobility

Sunaina Chauhan, Chris Teresa, Aditya Swarankar, Sourav Dhar, Himani Jain, Khushi Sharma, Shivangi Dhingra, Atul Mudaliar

Suggested citation: CEEW and Climate Group. 2025. India's Road to Zero-Emission Trucking Tracking Early Electrification Efforts. New Delhi: Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) and Climate Group, India.

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Overview

India's road freight heavily depends on medium- and heavy-duty trucks (MHDTs), predominantly diesel-powered, which, despite their small fleet share, contribute disproportionately high levels of on-road fuel consumption (around 35%) and transport emissions (around 45%), necessitating a shift to zero-emission trucks (ZETs). With the MHDT fleet expected to grow 2.6 times by 2050, a transition to e-trucks offers a significant opportunity for global leadership in emission reduction, aligning with India's NDC targets and promising substantial environmental and socio-economic benefits, including improved public health and occupational advantages.

The study provides qualitative evidence from seven recent, geographically diverse e-transition pilot projects showcasing unique decentralised applications and the collaborative efforts of various stakeholders. It gathers insights and lessons learned from early adoption challenges through structured interviews with fleet operators, shippers, OEMs, and logistic service providers (LSP). The study also evaluates the broader employment impacts and occupational benefits by understanding the transition experiences of e-MHDT drivers through in-depth interviews.

Key Highlights

The Indian MHDT fleet is projected to grow significantly, reaching approximately 10.2 million units by 2050 from around 3.9 million in 2024.
The trucking sector is estimated to create around 30 million jobs by 2050, with the e-MHDT segment accounting for about 20% of these total jobs.
The transition to e-MHDTs has the potential to reduce occupational stress and improve driver comfort through advanced vehicle technologies and better infrastructure, leading to increased job satisfaction, safety, and health.
Early adoption of e-MHDTs is driven by collaboration among fleet operators, charge point operators, and logistics service providers (LSPs), fostering data-driven, inclusive, and optimised logistics operations that enhance overall efficiency.

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Sunaina Chauhan

Research Analyst

[email protected]

“The transition to e-MHDTs demands a collaborative ecosystem where stakeholders share risks and deliver targeted solutions tailored to duty cycles and specific use cases. Accelerating zero-emission truck adoption can enhance operational efficiency across the sector while unlocking significant occupational benefits for the broader workforce.”

Executive summary

With a fleet of around four million, India relies heavily on medium- and heavy-duty trucks (MHDTs)—especially diesel trucks—for road freight movement (NITI Aayog, RMI, and RMI India 2022). Despite constituting a small share of the total vehicle fleet, MHDTs account for approximately 35 per cent of on-road fuel consumption and around 45 per cent of total on-road transport sector emissions (Climate Group 2022). This disproportionately high contribution to ambient air pollution requires a transition to zero-emission trucks (ZETs). Among ZET technologies, electric and hydrogen-based, battery electric truck (e-truck) technology has matured globally and is being explored in various use cases in the Indian market.

As India’s MHDT fleet is projected to increase by approximately 2.6 times by 2050, it has the potential to exhibit global leadership in emission reduction by transitioning to e-trucks. This will create a large-scale impact aligned with its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target of achieving a 45 per cent reduction in the emissions intensity of its gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030 and realising net zero by 2070 (NITI Aayog, RMI, and RMI India 2021). Along with these environmental benefits, electric MHDTs (e-MHDTs) also have the potential to enable socio-economic transformations, including public health improvements and occupational benefits.

The e-MHDT transition is nascent in India, with stakeholders actively conducting pilots in different use cases. In this study, we provide qualitative evidence from on-ground pilots, using seven recent case studies selected for their unique decentralised applications, geographical spread across the country, and the ecosystem of stakeholders driving them (as illustrated in Figure ES1). We combine insights gained and lessons learnt from challenges during early transitions through structured interviews with various strategic designations of different fleet operators, shippers, original equipment manufacturers(OEMs) and logistics service providers (LSPs). We also evaluate the impact of increased e-MHDT adoption on employment in the sector. Furthermore, to understand the occupational benefits of operating e-MHDTs, we include the drivers’ transition experiences through in-depth interviews.

Key findings

The MHDT sector can drive job growth: According to the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW)–Transportation Fuel Forecasting Model (TFFM), the MHDT fleet is estimated to increase from around 3.9 million units in 2024 to around 10.2 million units in 2050. We estimate that the trucking sector will create approximately 30 million jobs by 2050, impacting over 111 million individuals, including people working in the industry and their households. Of the estimated jobs, around 1.2 million jobs will be in truck manufacturing, 13 million will be direct jobs (drivers, fleet operators, etc.), 9 million will be indirect jobs (after-sales, fuel station workers, etc.), and 7 million will be induced jobs (local businesses, rest stops, and hospitality services). The e-MHDT segment will host around 20 per cent of the total trucking sector jobs.
e-MHDTs can enhance operational efficiency in the sector: In each use case, engagement among key stakeholders in the ecosystem—such as fleet operators, charge point operators, and LSPs—emerges as the common factor driving the early transition. It has also fostered new businesses where stakeholders share risks through detailed contracts, exchange knowledge, and enhance peer learning through pilot initiatives. Hence, the logistics operations are data-driven, inclusive, and optimised to improve the overall efficiency in the sector.
e-MHDTs can reduce occupational stress and improve driver comfort: Companies have demonstrated efforts to address the issues faced by MHDT drivers in this transition. Drivers have access to advanced vehicle technologies such as clutch-free systems and real-time AI driving assistance. Improved infrastructure, with amenities such as washrooms and rest stops synced with charging downtime are also provided. Drivers report overall job satisfaction, enhanced safety and comfort during long rides, and reduced fatigue and overall improvement in health.

Figure ES1 Various companies have adopted pilot e-MHDT applications with unique approaches

Key recommendations

To foster a collaborative ecosystem in the trucking sector and accelerate the e-MHDT transition in India, it is crucial to implement supportive policies and regulations. Fleet operators are uniquely positioned to develop such partnerships, seek support from key players and share risks associated with early transitions. Table ES 1 lists some of the challenges and associated recommendations as key asks by fleet operators and LSPs from other stakeholders.

Table ES1 Recommendations for key stakeholders to drive the e-transition