Adoption of battery-swapping electric trucks may take longer as challenges such as higher time and cost to set up battery-swapping infrastructure persist, according to Jalaj Gupta, CEO of Montra Electric (TI Clean Mobility).

“Customers are accepting the electric truck itself. And also, if you talk to them about changing batteries, it becomes a bit difficult,” Gupta tells BT in an interview.

However, he added that there are certain applications such as ports where mixer swapping works best. “When a ship arrives at the dock, there is no time for the trucks to load inside the terminal. At a port, truck utilization may not justify an exchange,” says Gupta.

Electric commercial vehicle maker Montra Electric, part of the Murugappa Group, has become the first heavy electric truck manufacturer in the country to receive certification under the government’s PM E-DRIVE scheme. Delivered to UltraTech Cement the country’s first PM E-DRIVE certified electric heavy duty truck, the Rhino 5538 EV 6×4 Tractor Trailer. The Rs 10,900 crore PM E-DRIVE scheme has an allocation of Rs 500 crore dedicated to e-trucks, which translates into a direct customer benefit of up to Rs 9.6 lakh per vehicle for the Rhino 5538 EV, which includes both battery swap and fixed battery options.

Montra Electric sold 170 electric trucks by 2025, all of which had a fixed battery.

While the company has yet to sell any battery-swappable trucks, it is in advanced talks to secure some orders. “We are toying with the idea of ​​unlocking long-haul transportation with a battery swap. We will set up swap stations based on orders,” says Gupta.

“There are a few different end-use cases that are emerging. Battery swap or fixed battery depends on the application. If a truck needs to run 20 hours a day and there’s no time to charge, battery swap makes perfect sense. If a truck needs to run 10 to 12 hours, then fixed battery makes sense,” says Gupta, adding that the company’s flagship truck will primarily have a fixed battery.

About 50% of Montra Electric’s revenue comes from the heavy truck business, 20% each from the three-wheeler and small commercial vehicle businesses. Electric tractors contribute around 10% to the company’s revenue.

“We’ve taken a big leap of faith by going into four segments simultaneously. We’ve done two things differently. We’ve dipped into all four segments simultaneously. We’ve got a call to go electric only and not also electric. That’s the only lifeline we have. There’s no other lifeline,” Gupta said.

When asked how the new-age EV startup plans to take on legacy players, Gupta says, “Where we think we’ll have an advantage is that selling an electric commercial vehicle is not about selling a truck, it’s about how efficiently you can do the customer’s logistics operations and thereby improve efficiency and reduce costs.”

Gupta, however, believes that not all car segments will be electric. “We will target segments that have a logical fit with electric commercial vehicles,” he says.

Montra Electric is in talks with airport cargo operators to sell electric tractors. “We have sold more than 150 e-tractors. E-tractors have not been adopted in agriculture. Reliance has deployed a good number of our e-tractors at their compressed biogas plants. In Q1FY27, we will start deploying e-tractors at airports,” Gupta said.

The Murugappa Group has maintained an outlay of Rs 3,000 crore for its electric vehicle venture. A reasonable amount has been spent on new product development and plant creation. “If more money is needed, we will look for more money,” says Gupta.

On supply chain challenges for critical rare earths, Gupta says the supply chain for electric vehicles is a work in progress. “It’s a journey that will take some time,” he says.

“Earlier we used to import the battery packs. Now we just import cells and assemble the battery pack at Manesar. In a year, all our trucks and tractors will have our in-house developed microcontrollers,” says Gupta.

On his budget wish list, Gupta said there should be a toll exemption for electric trucks on roads.