Initiative launches Indian e-trucking pilot

Laneshift, a zero-emission international freight initiative aimed at kickstarting development and deployment of zero-emission electric trucks and charging infrastructure across major cities in India and Latin America, has initiated a demonstration project that will test electric trucks along the 350km Bengaluru-Chennai highway corridor in India

The trucks will transport commercial loads along the corridor, analysing the operational feasibility and cost-effectiveness of EV trucks in long-haul transportation. Key stakeholders in the collaboration include delivery heavyweight Amazon, Indian commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland, e-mobility-as-a-service firm BillionE and Indian EV charging network Chargezone.

BillionE will run 20 heavy-duty Ashok Leyland EV trucks, of up to 55t, of varying payloads for six months, starting along NH48, which connects Bengaluru and Chennai, collecting real-time fleet data and testing the technical, financial, environmental, and social viability of switching to electric freight. Amazon will also use the corridor, facilitated by Chargezone’s charging infrastructure solutions.

“By deploying electric trucks along the Bengaluru-Chennai corridor, we aim to showcase their robust performance and underscore our dedication to zero-emission solutions,” says Shenu Agarwal, managing director at Ashok Leyland.

“India’s highways, like those between Bengaluru and Chennai, provide a powerful opportunity to demonstrate the viability of electric trucking solutions,” says Abhinav Singh, vice-president of operations at Amazon India. “The Laneshift initiative not only highlights the potential for electrification but will also encourage the partnerships needed to achieve a cleaner, more sustainable future for road transport in India, serving as a model for future sustainable logistics solutions.”

The demonstration project is the culmination of a year-long collaboration that drew insights from both public and private stakeholders, Laneshift says. The team consulted with 50+ businesses, financial institutions and government representatives, and analysed eight highway corridors before selecting the Bengaluru-Chennai route.

The project’s results will be used to develop a national EV highway roadmap for India and provide critical information that will help send demand signals to stakeholders. Moving the project from demonstration to implementation with bankable, scalable solutions will help sustain the growth of EV freight throughout India, Laneshift predicts.

Laneshift was launched in 2023 by the Climate Pledge — a commitment co-founded by Amazon and NGO Global Optimism in 2019 to reaching net-zero carbon by 2040 through decarbonisation and high-quality offsets, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement and which now has over 525 signatories — and C40 Cities, a climate-focused organisation representing 96 cities around the world that lay claim to one twelfth of the world's population and one quarter of the global economy.

“Decarbonising freight is essential for India to reach its net-zero goals,” says Sally Fouts, global leader of The Climate Pledge. “The strength of Laneshift is in the collaboration that brings together the key players: electric vehicle manufacturers, logistics experts, and leaders in infrastructure.”

“Focusing on key corridors like NH48 will optimise charging infrastructure and reduce costs,” says Shruti Narayan, managing director, regions and mayoral engagement at C40 Cities. “Aligned with initiatives like e-Fast India, this effort supports national priorities for freight electrification.

“If electric medium-duty trucks were responsible for 60pc of journeys, and heavy-duty trucks 35pc, along the Bengaluru-Chennai route by 2035, it could prevent 231,000t CO₂e and generate fuel cost savings of $94mn — driving meaningful progress in India’s freight decarbonisation.”

According to Laneshift, trucks represent just 3pc of vehicles on India’s roads but are responsible for over 34pc of CO₂ and 53pc of particulate matter emissions in the country’s transport sector. And, as India’s road freight transport continues to grow, the number of medium- and heavy-duty trucks is expected to more than quadruple, from 4mn in 2022 to c.17mn trucks by 2050 — representing a substantial potential roadblock to the country’s 2070 net-zero ambitions if the sector cannot be decarbonised.