Govt Issues Guidelines for Electric Truck Subsidies under PM E-Drive | Autocar Professional

Incentives are applicable for electric trucks with gross vehicle weight exceeding 3.5 tonnes but not more than 55 tonnes, and will be calculated as ₹5,000 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of battery capacity.

The Union government has announced the guidelines and subsidies for electric trucks under the PM E-DRIVE Scheme, which offers demand incentives for electric vehicles and supports charging infrastructure. A total of Rs 500 crore has been allocated under the Rs 10,900-crore scheme to support 5,643 electric trucks in the financial year 2026.

As per the guidelines, incentives are applicable for electric trucks with gross vehicle weight exceeding 3.5 tonnes but not more than 55 tonnes. The incentive will be calculated as ₹5,000 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of battery capacity, or up to 10% of the vehicle’s ex-factory price, whichever is lower.

Electric trucks under the N2 category with a Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) between 3.5 and 7.5 tonnes qualify for a maximum incentive of Rs 2.7 lakh. Trucks with a GVW exceeding 7.5 tonnes and up to 12 tonnes are eligible for a maximum subsidy of Rs 3.6 lakh. Subsidies can be availed only if the consumer buys an electric truck with a Certificate of Deposit (CD) obtained after scrapping an old vehicle.

"The incentive will be applicable only for the “puller tractor” of N3 category in case of an articulated vehicle (tractor-trailer combination)," the government said.