Goa, India, 19 July 2023: Fifteen prominent companies have come together under the Zero Emission Vehicles Emerging Markets Initiative (ZEV-EMI) and the Indian government's E-FAST (Electric Freight Accelerator for Sustainable Transport) initiative to advance the electrification of the truck market in India. Today, at the G20 and Clean Energy Ministerial events in Goa, they announced several pilot projects and signaled demand for more than 5,000 electric trucks (e-trucks) in India by 2027 and around 7,700 e-trucks by 2030. They have agreed to work together to establish favorable market conditions for the deployment of electric trucks through a national task force.
This announcement comes after a series of dialogues hosted as part of the ZEV Country Partnership with India, led by NITI Aayog, the United Kingdom, the United States and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), under the ZEVTC.
The ZEV-EMI initiative and the E-FAST platform – led by NITI Aayog and supported by World Resources Institute (WRI) India – have joined forces to bring businesses and policymakers together to drive national electric freight (e-freight) action. The companies involved include Aditya Birla Group, Amazon, Danfoss India, DHL Group, Gentari, JSW, Maersk, Nestle, PepsiCo India, Shree Cements, UltraTech Cement and Tata Chemicals, among others.
The companies involved are dedicated to reducing carbon emissions in their fleet operations. They will collaborate under a national task force that will stimulate the development of the e-freight market in India. The task force is structured according to a national five-pillar strategy for electrifying trucks: aggregating demand, building industrial capacity and required financing instruments, modeling the total cost of ownership, planning for large-scale pilot implementation, and supporting policymaking for zero-emission trucks in India.
"We commend the remarkable collaboration demonstrated by the industry leaders in their concerted efforts to drive the electrification of India's truck market. The initiative undertaken by these prominent companies under the NITI-led E-FAST India and ZEV-EMI platforms aligns perfectly with our vision for sustainable development. By signaling demand for thousands of electric trucks and establishing a national task force, they are setting a strong foundation for the transition towards zero-emission vehicles. I am thrilled to witness such transformative collaboration and endeavors, which will undoubtedly contribute to India's journey as a front-runner in decarbonizing the road freight ecosystem." Sudhendu Jyoti Sinha, Adviser, NITI Aayog.
"The ZEV Country Partnership with India – co-launched by India, the UK, the US and WBCSD at COP27 through the ZEV Transition Council – is driving forward critical work to provide stronger support to India in turbocharging its transition to ZEVs this decade. The strong progress announced at the CEM in India – including on demand for e-freight and finance capacity building for Indian States – shows the power of public-private collaboration to accelerate the transition to ZEVs to help meet the goals of the Paris Agreement." Ed Webber, Deputy Director of Financing and Sectors Transition, International Net Zero, UK Government
“At COP 27, alongside international partners, the United States announced the ZEV Emerging Markets Initiative to help leading businesses step up their efforts to help decarbonize the mobility sector in fast-growing markets around the world. Today's announcement is the culmination of intense work over the last year in bringing key stakeholders in the private and public sectors together in India and setting an ambitious goal of electrifying more than 5,000 medium and heavy-duty vehicles in the coming years. We hope this initiative will play an important part in India's larger effort to electrify the transport sector, invest in the accompanying infrastructure, and diversify the global e-mobility supply chain." Rick Duke, Deputy Special Envoy for Climate, US State Department
"Today's announcement marks a significant milestone in India's transition to zero-emission vehicles. Leading businesses are spearheading the electrification of the truck market. We are excited that the radical collaboration driven through the ZEV-EMI initiative is paving the way for action and bringing us closer to a net-zero trajectory." Diane Holdorf, Executive Vice President, WBCSD
For additional information about the ZEV-EMI, please get in touch with Urska Skrt.
