India: Montra Electric delivers 65 electric heavy-duty trucks

Montra Electric flagged off the first batch from its factory in Manesar, Haryana, on 8 July. It said that it will deliver the remaining 195 electric trucks of the fleet order over the coming months, without stating a specific timeline.

The company is using its Rhino 5538 EV 55-tonne model for this consignment. The Rhino 5538 EV is suitable for cement, mining, construction materials, infrastructure, steel, port, chemical, and various other heavy-duty industrial applications. Montra Electric manufactures this model in tractor-trailer and tipper versions, and it has supplied the former in the 65-unit batch.

The Rhino 5538 EV tractor-trailer is powered by a 280 kW permanent magnet synchronous electric motor and features a 6-speed automated manual transmission. Montra Electric gives a choice of 4×2 and 6×4 drivetrain layouts. The 4×2 variant has a gradeability of 18 per cent, while the 6×4 variant can climb grades up to 20 per cent.

Montra Electric uses a 282 kWh LFP battery pack, which it claims delivers a range of 198 kilometres in the 4×2 variant and 169 kilometres in the 6×4 variant. The electric truck supports dual-gun fast-charging at up to 240 kW, with a 20 per cent to 100 per cent session taking 60 minutes. The company offers a swappable battery pack as an option, which it claims can be replaced in seven minutes. It has not revealed the drivetrain layout or battery type of this particular fleet order.

Ex-factory prices of the Rhino 5538 EV’s tractor-trailer version start at 11.5 million rupees (approx. 105,500 euros) for the 4×2 variant and 11.8 million rupees (approx. 108,300 euros) for the 6×4 variant. The electric truck is eligible for incentives of up to 960,000 rupees (approx. 8,800 euros) under the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI)’s PM E-Drive scheme. As for the tipper version, the company has set its ex-factory price at 13.3 million rupees (approx. 122,000 euros).

Source: Information via e-mail