Widespread adoption of e-trucks in India likely in 2 yrs: Vellayan Subbiah

Montra Electric launches its heavy-duty Rhino 5538 with battery swapping, as Vellayan Subbiah forecasts 70% truck electrification in India within a decade

Widespread adoption of electric trucks in India is likely to begin within the next two years as more logistics players move beyond pilots to large-scale deployments, driven by battery swapping and long-haul usage, said Vellayan Subbiah, vice-chairman of Montra Electric and a fourth-generation scion of the Murugappa Group, while speaking to Business Standard on the sidelines of a new truck launch on Sunday.

 

He said that within the next 10 years, about 70 per cent of trucks in India could be electric, with the government boosting the shift through schemes that incentivise the establishment of EV charging infrastructure across the country.

 

“With any innovative technology, there is a point where just early adopters are trailing and testing it. Then, the adoption increases, and then a tipping point comes, which is called ‘crossing the chasm’ by (US-based writer) Geoffrey Moore in his book. After this tipping point, everyone starts to adopt that technology. A similar thing is happening with electric trucks,” Subbiah said.

 

He mentioned that some large cement companies started with buying five electric trucks, and now they have started buying 50-100 electric trucks for each route. “It has entered the second phase. When is the shift from second to third phase going to happen? It is a bit indeterminate but I feel it is going to happen in the next one year or two. Once the adoption is widespread, then you start getting battery charging infrastructure on major highways,” he added.

 

So far, electric trucks have been bought for point-to-point usage. “Now, that we have (in our new truck) introduced battery swapping technology, I think we are ready for the next shift. I actually think that the shift is going to be fairly pivotal once we start getting long-haul logistics providers adopting this platform. And we’re seeing that happen. Once that happens, we will basically sell over 20,000-25,000 of these trucks a year, which basically means the size of the market will go to like ₹20,000 crore and more, which I actually see happening,” Subbiah noted. 

 

India’s automobile industry is currently facing a rare-earth magnet shortage after China, which accounts for 80 per cent of India’s magnet imports, imposed stricter export controls in April 2025.

 

When asked about the rare-earth magnet issue, he replied: “The issue has not been resolved yet. We are hopeful that basically, the two countries will come to a good understanding and it will be resolved. I think the only other options are to look at indigenous sources over time, and then moving to rare earth-free technology, which, honestly, I don’t see the technology still supporting fully yet. So, I do think that we need to think of alternative sources,” he added.

 

He further said that of the ₹3,000 crore the Murugappa Group had earmarked for investment in the EV business, about ₹2,300 crore had already been invested. The remaining ₹700 crore is expected to be invested in the next one year. “If we need to invest more, we will do that. We won’t be shy,” he stated.

 

Montra Electric’s EV business spans four verticals: heavy commercial vehicles, small commercial vehicles, three-wheelers, and tractors.

 

Subbiah on Sunday was speaking after Montra Electric launched its new heavy-duty Rhino 5538 electric truck at its Manesar plant in Haryana. The company also rolled out battery-swapping for its Rhino range, which allows a drained battery to be replaced with a charged one in under six minutes, compared with more than an hour needed for fast charging.

At the same facility, Montra inaugurated India’s first automated battery plant run by an all-women team, along with a new conveyor system that uses driverless vehicles to move components.

The 55-tonne truck has the option of either a swappable or a fixed battery. On a full charge, it can run close to 200 km and is priced at about ₹1.15 crore (ex-showroom). The company is offering a 10-year service package that assures 95 per cent uptime for fleet operators.