Blue Energy Motors launches battery-swap e-truck, plans ₹3,500 cr plant

Blue Energy Motors unveils India's first heavy-duty electric truck with two-minute battery-swapping tech and signs MoU for a Rs 3,500-cr EV plant in Maharashtra

Blue Energy Motors (BEM) on Thursday launched India’s first heavy-duty electric truck featuring battery-swapping technology and an ‘energy-as-a-service’ (EaaS) model, marking its formal entry into the electric freight segment. The company also signed an MoU with the Maharashtra government to set up a new manufacturing facility in the state.

 

Rs 3,500-cr Maharashtra plant under Davos MoU

 

The proposed unit, established under the Davos MoU signed earlier this year, is expected to add production capacity with an investment of about Rs 3,500 crore, according to Anirudh Bhuwalka, founder and managing director of Blue Energy Motors.

 

“We are scaling up manufacturing to meet expected demand for electric freight vehicles. The new facility will be a greenfield unit, and we are assessing locations including Aurangabad,” Bhuwalka said. 

 

The company said it has already secured an order for 100 trucks from early customers, marking the first phase of its commercial rollout.

 

Battery-swapping tech cuts downtime

 

BEM’s 55-tonne electric truck uses a two-minute battery-swapping system designed to eliminate long charging times — a major constraint in heavy-duty EV adoption. The company’s EaaS model keeps battery ownership with the service provider, while fleet operators pay only for the energy consumed.

 

According to BEM, this structure reduces upfront vehicle cost by up to 50 per cent and ensures predictable operating expenses through subscription or per-swap payments. 

 

Focus on infrastructure and cost efficiency

 

The company is also setting up battery-swapping and charging stations along the Mumbai–Pune corridor, with plans to deploy 30,000 trucks over the next five years. It estimates a 20–25 per cent reduction in logistics costs compared with diesel vehicles due to lower operating and maintenance requirements.

 

The company aims to sell 30,000 trucks in the next five years. “Not all will use swapping; it will be a hybrid of fixed charging and swap stations, with about 50 per cent expected to use swaps,” Bhuwalka added.

 

Government backs EV infrastructure drive

 

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who attended the launch, said the initiative aligns with the state’s broader push for decarbonisation in cargo transport. He noted that the MoU signed at Davos had translated into a concrete investment and that the government would support the creation of battery-swapping and charging corridors across Maharashtra.

 

Fadnavis added that Maharashtra aims to generate 52 per cent of its power from renewable sources by 2030, rising to 75–80 per cent by 2035, to help decarbonise the EV ecosystem.

 

Investment, localisation, and target markets

 

BEM has invested around $50 million in product development to date. The company sources battery cells from China but assembles them in India and plans to increase localisation as domestic cell production ramps up.

 

The electric trucks are aimed at the cement, steel, mining, and logistics sectors, which face growing regulatory and customer pressure to cut emissions.

 

Bhuwalka said the company’s near-term focus is the Indian market, with exports to be considered after achieving scale domestically.

 

A new chapter for India’s commercial EV sector

 

The launch marks a shift in India’s commercial vehicle landscape, combining battery-swapping infrastructure, subscription-based energy access, and local manufacturing to lower costs and accelerate heavy-duty EV adoption.