Pilots
Pilots
- The long-distance heavy-duty truck market in India is heavily fragmented, with more than 90% of the on-road inventory of trucks as well as the annual sales of new trucks being operated by single owner-drivers or, at best, small fleet owners who own 20 trucks or less. The preferences and criteria for decision-making for such owners, though primarily driven by cash flow and profitability, are varied across the country, with at least six different “zones" or "areas" amongst the high-volume locations. These buyers, typically, have been relying on word of mouth and trial to take decisions since they do not have a corporate structure to support new decisions; especially paradigm shifts like using BETs instead of Diesel Trucks.
- Moreover, the different aspects of BET operations related to product performance as well as infrastructure performance and the reliability of power supply, require testing and validation. The Indian trucking market, extremely different from those in China, Europe, and North America, will need specific solutions that fit into the needs of this market, the practices, the preferences, and the ambient conditions across different seasons and corridors.
- Financial viability and operational feasibility are typically established by these owners through trials/pilots run for a while before making decisions. Moreover, the vehicle manufacturers and CaaS (Charging as a Service) providers will also require statistically valid volumes to run for statistically accurate periods covering different terrains, duty cycles, products, and seasons.
- No incentives and policy alone will enable rapid BET growth in India. There is a pressing need to design pilots carefully and technically in statistically relevant numbers in different corridors across the country almost simultaneously and then permit the market forces to take over but with due policy and fiscal support as required.
- It is expected that CoEZET would be operating about 60~70 eTrucks in about 7 major trucks corridors across the country with different models and different energy solutions (BETs covering not less than 300 km per day). These pilots would be helping to test the feasibility of electric trucks in Indian conditions and to gather data on the performance and cost of electric trucks. The government hopes that the data gathered from these pilot projects will help to accelerate the spur adoption of electric trucks in India.
- It is also suggested to host 'BET Pilot Flag Off' events aimed at raising awareness among stakeholders, enhancing their confidence, and fostering public support to promote the ZET initiative.