Kolkata/Howrah: Montra Electric has entered West Bengal with the opening of its first electric small commercial vehicle dealership in Howrah, expanding its sales and service network as the company’s Eviator fleet crosses 1,000 vehicles nationwide.
The dealership, established in partnership with Next Drive Mobility, will sell and service Montra Electric’s Eviator range of electric small commercial vehicles, or e-SCVs. It will also provide spare parts and aftersales support to fleet operators and businesses engaged in last-mile and intra-city logistics.
The facility was jointly inaugurated by Saju Nair, CEO, e-SCV, Montra Electric; Saurabh Khetan, Dealer Principal, Next Drive Mobility; Devansh Agarwal; and Sudarshan Sarda. Industry representatives, regional partners and fleet operators attended the launch.
Montra Electric said the Howrah outlet would function as an integrated sales, service and spare-parts centre, with a focus on reducing vehicle downtime for commercial customers. For logistics operators, the appeal of electric mobility may be futuristic, but the priority remains reassuringly traditional: keeping vehicles moving.
The company’s entry into West Bengal follows the expansion of its Eviator platform across India. According to Montra Electric, the Eviator 350L, launched in January 2025, secured more than 30% of the 3.5-tonne e-SCV market during FY25 within 12 months of its introduction.
The company said data collected from more than 1,000 Eviator vehicles currently operating across the country would help it support customers in West Bengal and address concerns relating to performance, range and operating costs.
Speaking at the launch, Saju Nair, CEO, e-SCV, Montra Electric said: “We are thrilled with the inauguration of our first dealership in Kolkata today. This is a significant moment in our endeavour to increase the footprint of Montra Electric across India. We’re entering this market from a position of strength as our Eviator fleet has just crossed 1,000 vehicles nationally, and the operating data from those vehicles gives our Kolkata customers real confidence. The registration data tells its own story: West Bengal’s commercial fleet is still running on diesel at a higher rate than the rest of India, and electrification here has barely moved beyond small commercial vehicles. That’s exactly the gap this dealership is built to close, starting right here in Howrah. Through this dealership, we aim to provide best-in-class sales and aftersales support to our customers, and our partnership with Next Drive Mobility aligns perfectly with our shared vision of driving cleaner, smarter, and more efficient regional transportation.”
Montra Electric is positioning Howrah as an important market for the transition of commercial fleets from internal-combustion-engine vehicles to electric alternatives. The company said Kolkata and Howrah were already recording comparatively stronger electric-vehicle adoption in the small commercial vehicle category than other parts of the state.
Saurabh Khetan, Dealer Principal, Next Drive Mobility, added: “We are proud to partner with Montra Electric and officially bring the Eviator to Kolkata’s growing commercial ecosystem. Today’s launch is a timely response to the rising demand for sustainable transport solutions among regional fleet operators. Kolkata and Howrah already show more EV uptake in small commercial vehicles than the rest of the state, and we see that as validation of the timing. Backed by Montra Electric’s strong product engineering and our deeply customer-centric approach, we look forward to offering a best-in-class ownership experience and supporting the region’s green transition, one diesel vehicle replaced at a time.”
Three Eviator Variants Offered
The Eviator range includes the E350 with a 32 kWh battery, the E350L with a 40 kWh battery and the E350L+ with a 50 kWh battery.
Designed for high-utilisation urban logistics, the vehicles offer a claimed payload capacity of 1.7 tonnes and a 10.3-foot loading deck. The specifications are intended to serve businesses transporting goods within cities and across regional distribution routes.
The Eviator uses a liquid-cooled Lithium Iron Phosphate, or LFP, battery. Montra Electric claims the vehicle can deliver a real-world driving range of more than 200 km, depending on the variant and operating conditions.
The platform supports CCS2 DC fast charging and can reportedly be charged from zero to 80% in approximately 60 minutes. It is equipped with D+2 seating, accommodating a driver and two passengers.
Montra Electric offers an extended warranty of up to seven years on the vehicle and battery, along with optional Annual Maintenance Contract packages. The company claims an operating cost of ₹2.35 per kilometre, although actual expenditure may vary according to vehicle load, route, electricity tariffs, driving conditions and utilisation.
Focus on Last-Mile Electrification
Electric commercial vehicles are increasingly being developed for delivery and logistics operations where vehicles travel predictable routes, return to a fixed base and cover substantial daily distances. Such operating patterns can make charging schedules and total running costs easier for fleet managers to calculate.
However, wider adoption also depends on factors beyond the vehicle itself, including access to charging infrastructure, financing, service support, spare-parts availability and resale confidence. The new Howrah dealership is intended to address at least part of that equation by providing local sales and aftersales assistance.
With its West Bengal entry, Montra Electric is continuing to expand its dedicated e-SCV dealership network across India. The Howrah facility will serve as a test of whether the company can translate its growing national fleet and accumulated operating data into stronger adoption in an important regional logistics market.
The opening also reflects the broader shift taking place in India’s commercial mobility sector, where the transition to electric vehicles will be determined not merely by headline range figures, but by reliability, service access and the everyday economics of moving goods from one point to another.
