Amazon and Tata Motors will put 3,000 electric trucks on Amazon’s transportation network in India, the two companies announced on Tuesday. The Economic Times reported that Heavy Industries Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy flagged off the first group of trucks in Delhi, in northern India. A senior Amazon executive said all 3,000 trucks will be on the road within three years.
Amazon, the online retailer and cloud company in Seattle, Washington, describes the rollout as the largest electric-truck deployment by an e-commerce company in India. Tata Motors, the truck and bus maker in Mumbai, Maharashtra, in western India, will supply light- and medium-duty trucks, including the Tata Ultra E.7, which Amazon says suits urban and regional freight. Amazon’s carrier partners will own and operate the trucks. They will carry shipments between facilities, between cities and along national freight corridors.
The first trucks start work in Delhi during the festive season. The next phase extends to the 2,800-kilometer corridor linking Delhi with Bengaluru and Chennai, both in southern India, along the NH48 highway through seven states.
Amazon says it already runs more than 15,000 electric vehicles in more than 500 cities in India. Charging hubs for the new trucks are being developed with Yahhvi, a charging provider that has built ten charging yards for Amazon across the country, according to Amazon’s statement. Tata Motors will also provide charging infrastructure, servicing and operational support.
Rajesh Kaul, vice president and business head for trucks at Tata Motors, said in the statement that electric trucking in India is moving beyond the pilot stage and into wider adoption.
Why this matters
Amazon has a net-zero carbon goal for 2040 and says it already runs more than 15,000 electric vehicles in India. The truck order extends that effort to its middle-mile network, where trucks move shipments between facilities and cities.
