Blended finance, leasing models needed to boost e-truck adoption: Gauba

Niti Aayog member Rajiv Gauba said high financing costs, fragmented logistics operations and lack of coordinated corridor planning were holding back e-truck adoption

Niti Aayog member Rajiv Gauba on Monday called for blended finance mechanisms, leasing models and stronger data systems to increase the penetration of electric trucks (e-trucks) in India, as these will bring down the cost of capital for these vehicles.

 

While heavy trucks represent only 3-4 per cent of the vehicle fleet, they contribute to over a third of transport-sector carbon emissions, he said. The Niti member identified structural fragmentation among logistics operators, high financing costs, and the absence of coordinated corridor planning as the key constraints holding back the market.

 

Only around 800 heavy-duty e-trucks were sold in 2025, he said. Gauba called for strategic electrification of key freight corridors, given that 70 per cent of India's freight moves by road.

  

In a report launched by Gauba last year, the central policy think tank had recommended that the government move beyond incentives and go for soft mandates to increase electric vehicle adoption in India.