Montra Electric Flags Off 65 Heavy-Duty Electric Trucks as Part of One of India’s Largest eM&HCV Deployments

• The first batch of 65 out of a total 260 Montra Electric Rhino 5538 EV trucks was flagged off from Montra Electric's Manesar manufacturing facility, marking the commencement of a phased deployment across key industrial applications and strategic freight corridors.
• The deployment will help establish one of India's longest electrified freight corridors, marking a significant milestone in the country's transition towards zero-emission heavy commercial transportation.

Montra Electric, the clean mobility brand of the Murugappa Group, today flagged off the first batch of its Rhino 5538 EV heavy-duty electric trucks from its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Manesar, marking the commencement of a phased large-scale deployment across key industrial sectors in India.

The flag-off underscores the rapid evolution of India's heavy commercial vehicle market from pilot deployments to commercial-scale electrification. As fleet operators increasingly adopt zero-emission freight solutions, Montra Electric has significantly scaled up production of its Rhino platform to meet a growing order pipeline and support the accelerating transition towards sustainable logistics.

Engineered for demanding freight operations, the Rhino 5538 EV delivers high performance, exceptional reliability and a lower total cost of ownership. Designed for applications across cement, steel, infrastructure, construction materials, mining and other heavy-duty sectors, the vehicle combines operational efficiency with the performance required for long-haul and high-utilisation freight movement.

The flag-off marks the first phase of deliveries, with the remaining vehicles scheduled for deployment over the coming months, further strengthening the electrification of freight operations across multiple industrial corridors.

Mr. Jalaj Gupta, Managing Director, Montra Electric (TI Clean Mobility Pvt. Ltd.) said: "India's heavy freight ecosystem has reached an important inflection point. Customers today are making electric trucks a part of their mainstream logistics operations rather than evaluating them through limited pilots. This shift is driving commercial-scale production at our Manesar facility, and we are proud to be supporting leading enterprises with products that combine performance, reliability and sustainability. Our focus remains on building an ecosystem that enables customers to transition confidently towards zero-emission freight."

Mr. Navneet Sethi, CEO – eMHCV, Montra Electric (IPLTech Electric Pvt. Ltd.) said: "The conversation around electric trucking has fundamentally changed. Fleet operators are now asking how quickly they can scale, not whether the technology works. These are the most demanding freight applications, requiring uncompromised performance, high uptime and dependable operating economics. Rhino has been engineered precisely for these requirements, delivering a compelling combination of productivity, efficiency and lower total cost of ownership. With manufacturing now ramped up, we are well positioned to support the growing demand from customers across India's industrial sectors."

The Rhino 5538 EV combines an advanced electric powertrain, intelligent vehicle engineering and connected telematics to address the evolving needs of modern freight transportation. Designed for high-utilisation commercial operations, it delivers the performance, reliability and operational efficiency required across diverse heavy-duty applications.

Backed by a growing order book and increasing customer adoption across sectors such as cement, steel, infrastructure and mining, Montra Electric continues to strengthen its manufacturing capabilities, service network and customer support ecosystem to enable large-scale fleet electrification.

As businesses increasingly balance operational efficiency with sustainability commitments, electric heavy-duty trucks are emerging as a commercially viable solution for mainstream freight movement. The latest rollout from Montra Electric's Manesar facility reinforces the company's commitment to accelerating India's freight electrification journey through indigenous innovation, advanced manufacturing and customer-centric mobility solutions.

Tata Motors Launches Electric Version of Its Mini-Truck - Ace; Inks MoU With Amazon, Bigbasket, Flipkart for 39,000 Ace Evs

Tata Motors, India’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, has announced the launch of the all-new, revolutionary Ace EV – the electric version of the ever-popular Ace, exactly 17 years after redefining India’s freight movement. The new Ace EV, India’s most advanced, zero-emission, four-wheel small commercial vehicle (SCV), is a green and smart transport solution ready to serve a wide variety of intra-city applications.

With the launch of Ace EV, Tata Motors has also announced signing of strategic MoU with leading e-commerce companies and logistics service providers – Amazon, BigBasket, City Link, DOT, Flipkart, LetsTransport, MoEVing and Yelo EV. This includes delivering 39,000 units of the Ace EV; setting up dedicated Electric Vehicle Support Centres for maximum fleet uptime; deployment of Tata Fleet Edge – the next-gen optimal fleet management solution; and support of Tata UniEVerse, the proven enabling eco-system of relevant Tata Group companies.

The new Ace EV, co-developed in rich collaboration with its users and supported by a diligently curated ecosystem, offers a holistic solution for e-cargo mobility. In addition to addressing the core need of timely cost-effective and efficient last-mile deliveries, the Ace EV also serves the future commitment and aspirations of its conscientious customers to achieve net zero carbon footprint.

Features of Ace EV -

• Certified range of 154km on single charge
• Highest gradeability of 22%
• Advanced battery cooling system for safe operations, IP 67 rated water and dust proof drive parts
• Higher load per trip: Overall weight management through fully-built body
• TCO benefits with 5 year+ battery life, robust energy management system, all weather protection
• Highest uptime in the segment with support from Tata Motors’ dedicated service support and value-added services
• Charging infrastructure solution for easy and safe charging
• Connectivity solutions – live monitoring of vehicles through dedicated command centre for service support

Ace EV interior

Ace EV interior

Ace EV interior

Launching the Ace EV, Mr. N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons and Tata Motors, said, “E-mobility is an idea whose time has come. At Tata Motors, we are moving with speed and scale to lead this change – in passenger cars, commercial vehicles and Jaguar Land Rover. I am delighted today that with the launch of the Ace EV, we are entering a new era of e-cargo mobility. Tata Ace is India’s most successful commercial vehicle ever. It has revolutionised transportation and created millions of successful entrepreneurs over the years. It will further build on this legacy by providing a technologically-advanced, clean and smart mobility solution. I am excited about the electrification of commercial vehicles."

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Girish Wagh, Executive Director, Tata Motors, said, “The introduction of the Ace EV marks a major milestone in our journey to deliver zero-emission cargo mobility in India. Building on our experience and success with electric buses, we have designed use-case specific EV solutions for intra-city distribution. These solutions effectively cater to the application needs and deliver a superior value proposition to all stakeholders. We are much encouraged with the support and response received from our e-commerce customers, with whom we begin this journey of zero-emission cargo mobility.”

The Ace EV is the first product featuring Tata Motors’ EVOGEN powertrain that offers an unparalleled certified range of 154 kilometres. It delivers a safe, all-weather operation with an advanced battery cooling system and regenerative braking system to boost the driving range. The vehicle allows regular and fast charging capabilities for high uptime. It is powered by a 27kW (36hp) motor with 130Nm of peak torque, to ensure highest cargo volume of 208 ft3 and grade-ability of 22% allowing easy ascend in fully loaded conditions. The Ace EV’s container is made of light-weight, durable materials that perfectly suit the requirements of e-commerce logistics.

Electric Truck and Construction Logistics Startup Infraprime Logistics to Catalyse $200 Mn Investment in Construction Logistics

IPLT Rhino 5536 is being charged at the IPLT’s Bilaspur charging station

Infraprime Logistics Technologies, the Electric Truck and construction logistics start-up is planning to catalyse investment of $200 million to electrify and organize construction logistics in India. The three-year-old Company has grown to over $50m in terms of annualized gross logistics value of the contracts being executed. 

The investment by the Company would go in expanding the marketplace for construction logistics all over India, in establishing a state-of-the-art platform for vehicle servicing, charging and maintenance and towards plant automation. Fleet operators, charging network franchisee owners and banks would be playing their part via purchase and financing of various assets. The investment would add over $1b in annual margins to stakeholders across the value chain. 

As per a report by KPMG, the construction sector is expected to be a $1 trillion industry by 2025 and is expected to engage 1 million heavy duty trucks. The Company plans to showcase through its investment that all these 1 million heavy duty trucks can be replaced with electric trucks. The country wide displacement would need a charging network spanning 2,000 sites across 500+ routes.

Electric trucks can generate four times as much margins as a corresponding diesel truck. With introduction of BS VI, the prices of diesel trucks have gone up which creates a compelling case for the Electric Trucks. The Company’s Electric Trucks are priced at twice the price of a corresponding diesel truck.

The Company launched its first Electric Truck model “Rhino 5536” in Aug 2019 which immediately garnered eyeballs. The Company is planning to soon launch a 37 MT GCW model and a 28 MT GCW model.

The Company also has an on-demand marketplace “IPLT Trucknow” wherein customers can directly place orders for their transportation/material requirements for construction projects. The orders are fulfilled by the drivers who get navigation assistance via the “IPLT Humsafar” App.

Volvo Trucks launches a complete range of electric trucks starting in Europe in 2021

AVolvo Trucks Electric Range Eu

GOTHENBURG, Sweden , Nov. 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Next year, hauliers in Europe will be able to order all-electric versions of Volvo's heavy-duty trucks. This means that Volvo Trucks will offer a complete heavy-duty range with electric drivelines starting in Europe in 2021. Volvo Trucks' massive drive towards electrification marks a major step forwards on the road to fossil-free transport.

Volvo Trucks is now running tests of the electric heavy-duty Volvo FH, Volvo FM and Volvo FMX trucks, which will be used for regional transport and urban construction operations in Europe . These trucks will have a gross combination weight of up to 44 tonnes. Depending on the battery configuration the range could be up to 300 km. Sales will begin next year and volume production will start in 2022. This means that from 2021 onwards Volvo Trucks will sell a complete range of battery-electric trucks in Europe for distribution, refuse, regional transport and urban construction operations.

"By rapidly increasing the number of heavy-duty electric trucks, we want to help our customers and transport buyers to achieve their ambitious sustainability goals. We're determined to continue driving our industry towards a sustainable future," says Roger Alm , President Volvo Trucks.

Volvo Trucks started manufacturing the Volvo FL Electric and Volvo FE Electric in 2019. These are electric trucks intended for city distribution and refuse operations, primarily in Europe . In North America , sales of the Volvo VNR Electric, a truck for regional transport, will start on December 3, 2020 .

A gradual transition to fossil-free alternatives

Electric vehicles for demanding and heavy long-haul operations will follow in this decade. These will be battery-electric and fuel cell electric trucks with a longer range. Volvo Trucks aims to start selling electric trucks powered by hydrogen fuel cells in the second half of this decade. Volvo Trucks' objective is for its entire product range to be fossil-free by 2040.

"To reduce the impact of transport on the climate, we need to make a swift transition from fossil fuels to alternatives such as electricity. But the conditions for making this shift, and consequently the pace of the transition, vary dramatically across different hauliers and markets, depending on many variables such as financial incentives, access to charging infrastructure and type of transport operations," explains Roger Alm .

For this reason, most transport companies will change over to electric operation in stages. In practice, many of them will have a mixed fleet of trucks powered by different fuels during a transition period.

"Our chassis are designed to be independent of the driveline used. Our customers can choose to buy several Volvo trucks of the same model, with the only difference being that some are electric and others are powered by gas or diesel. As regards product characteristics, such as the driver's environment, reliability and safety, all our vehicles meet the same high standards. Drivers should feel familiar with their vehicles and be able to operate them safely and efficiently regardless of the fuel used," says Roger Alm .

From Volvo Trucks' perspective, the transition to more sustainable transport is largely about making the shift as smooth as possible for haulage operators, so that they can begin to adjust. The solutions offered must be fossil-free and allow hauliers to achieve the necessary levels of profitability and productivity.

"Our primary task is to ease the transition to electrified vehicles. We're doing this by offering holistic solutions that include route planning, correctly specified vehicles, charging equipment, financing and services. The long-term security that we and our global network of dealers and service workshops provide our customers with will be more important than ever," says Roger Alm .

Press images and films are available in the Volvo Trucks image and film gallery at http://images.volvotrucks.com

Volvo Trucks supplies complete transport solutions for discerning professional customers with its full range of medium- and heavy-duty trucks. Customer support is provided via a global network of dealers with 2,100 service points in more than 130 countries. Volvo trucks are assembled in 14 countries across the globe. In 2019 approximately 131,000 Volvo trucks were delivered worldwide. Volvo Trucks is part of the Volvo Group, one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks, buses, construction equipment and marine and industrial engines. The group also provides complete solutions for financing and service. Volvo Trucks' work is based on the core values of quality, safety and environmental care.

US-based Triton-EV Debuts 100% Electric Full-Service 18-Wheeler Semi Truck

Triton-EV, the revolutionary new subsidiary of Triton Solar, a leader in solar panel and battery engineering, announced today that it has produced a 100% electric- powered, full-service 18-wheeler semi-truck. The truck, which is a hybrid of hydrogen fuels that generate electricity stored in on-board batteries, has a 220,000-pound towing capacity—the same as any comparable diesel truck on the road. Triton-EV was able to produce the prototype in just over one month, a remarkable achievement considering the typical years-long development cycle for computing vehicles in the industry.

  

“We decided to go for it,” explained Himanshu Patel, Founder and CEO of Triton-EV. “Everyone was saying, ‘No, it can’t be done. It will take five years and a hundred million dollars.’ We thought, no, we can do it right now. We have the people and the components. The whole effort took 35 days. That’s the kind of team we have.” The entire effort was self-funded.

The trend in the industry is to emphasize hydrogen while using relatively few batteries. This causes an issue with torque, as hydrogen does not usually generate enough torque to haul an 80,000-pound trailer at sufficient speed and acceleration. Triton-EV took the opposite approach, with a lot of batteries and a little bit of hydrogen. “The reason we did it this way is that the hydrogen infrastructure is not there yet in the market,” Patel noted.

He added, “At the same time, we can use the hydrogen as the range extender.” The truck uses a hydrogen fuel cell generator to put power back into the battery. The motor runs off the battery, which provides the necessary torque for a truck of this size. Triton-EV Semi-truck is estimated to have a range of approximately 350 miles and higher. Triton-EV has not yet determined a price for the truck, but the company expects it will sell within the existing price range in the industry, which is between $150,00 and $250,000. Triton-EV is currently exploring partnership options and will also be releasing The Triton model H SUV in the coming months.

About Triton-EV

Triton-EV, a new subsidiary of Triton Solar has the mission of making energy storage more reliable, more affordable, and more applicable. The companies are committed to engineering a revolutionary new global energy structure and are working closely with partner nations to accomplish this goal. Founder and CEO Himanshu Patel has extensive experience in the electronics industry. Prior to founding Triton Solar, he served as a trained engineer and founded two additional companies in the electronics sector. A car enthusiast in his own right, it was his passion and vision that led to the founding of the Triton-EV.

Tesla Reveals Futuristic Electric Pickup Truck 'Cybertruck' at $39,000

Tesla just revealed their futuristic 'Cybertruck' -- a new electric pickup truck designed to look like a sports car. With a single motor, the Cybertruck has acceleration of 0 to 60 mph in of 6.5 seconds of time. The electric pickup truck will have a price tag starting at $39,900 and is planned to be launched in late 2021, according to Tesla’s website.

Cybertruck is built with an exterior shell made for ultimate durability and passenger protection. Starting with a nearly impenetrable exoskeleton, every component is designed for superior strength and endurance, from Ultra-Hard 30X Cold-Rolled stainless-steel structural skin to Tesla armor glass. According to Tesla website, Cybertruck is the most powerful tool ever built by the comnpany, engineered with 100 cubic feet of exterior, lockable storage — including a magic tonneau cover that is strong enough to stand on.

While the base version of the Cybertruck, with a single motor, will start at $39,900, the dual motor will bear a price tag of $49,000 that can tow 10,000 pounds ( ~ 4535 Kg) and reach 60 mph in 4.5 seconds, with 300 miles of range. And the top of the line variant, starting at $69,900, will go more than 500 miles between charges, hit 60 mph in under 60 seconds, tow up to 14,000 pounds (~ 6350 Kg), and start production in late 2022.

While debuting the truck onstage, Elon Musk asked Tesla’s lead designer, Franz von Holzhausen, to showcase the truck’s "Armor Glass" by throwing a metal ball at the driver window and it cracked !. Musk asked Holzhausen to throw the ball at the passenger window, and That cracked too !.



LAUNCH VIDEO [~ CNET]



Sources - ProductHunt | Wired |