Manesar, Haryana: Montra Electric has flagged off the first 65 units of a planned 260-truck deployment from its manufacturing facility in Manesar, marking the start of what the company describes as one of India’s largest deployments of electric medium and heavy commercial vehicles.
The Montra Electric Rhino 5538 EV trucks will be introduced in phases across major industrial applications and strategic freight corridors. According to the company, the deployment is also expected to contribute to the development of one of India’s longest electrified freight corridors.
The rollout reflects the gradual shift in India’s electric heavy-commercial-vehicle market from small-scale trials to regular freight operations. While electric trucks have spent years proving themselves in pilot projects, fleet operators are now beginning to ask the more practical question: how many can be delivered, and how soon?
Montra Electric, the clean mobility business of the Murugappa Group, said it has increased production of the Rhino platform to meet a growing order pipeline from industries including cement, steel, infrastructure, construction materials and mining.
The remaining trucks from the 260-vehicle order are scheduled to be deployed over the coming months across multiple industrial corridors.
Designed for demanding freight operations, the Rhino 5538 EV is intended for long-haul and high-utilisation applications. The truck combines an electric powertrain with connected telematics and vehicle-management technologies aimed at improving operational efficiency, uptime and fleet monitoring.
The company said the vehicle has been engineered to deliver the performance and reliability required in heavy-duty commercial operations while offering a lower total cost of ownership. However, it did not disclose customer names, route details, battery specifications or financial terms related to the deployment.
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.”
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.”
Montra Electric said it is expanding its manufacturing capabilities, service network and customer-support ecosystem as adoption increases among operators in energy-intensive and high-mileage industries.
Heavy-duty electric trucks are increasingly being evaluated as an alternative to diesel vehicles on fixed routes where charging infrastructure, predictable utilisation and fleet economics can be planned in advance. Their broader adoption, however, will depend on factors including charging availability, vehicle acquisition costs, financing, battery performance and dependable after-sales support.
The 260-truck deployment will therefore be closely watched not merely for its size, but for what it reveals about the ability of electric heavy vehicles to perform consistently in real-world industrial operations. For India’s freight sector, the transition to cleaner transport may be gathering speed — even if, fittingly for heavy trucks, it is doing so one carefully planned corridor at a time.
