What China can teach India on CV electrification

In early 2024, Shenu Agarwal, the Managing Director and CEO of Ashok Leyland, undertook what seemed like a routine visit to China, a geography that looms large in the global electric vehicle (EV) market.

What Agarwal witnessed on the highways of this sprawling country wasn't merely an expected showcase of electric trucks but a glimpse into a logistical upheaval—one that left a deeper impression than anticipated. The sight of trucks pulling into stations to swap batteries in three minutes rather than stopping for hours to recharge was not just a technological feat but a signal of what may soon become a paradigm shift in global logistics.

China's rapid embrace of battery-swapping for medium and heavy-duty trucks reflects a highly coordinated logistical ecosystem. What Agarwal saw firsthand was a process where an electric truck, indistinguishable from its diesel counterparts, could enter a swap station, exchange its depleted battery for a fully charged one in as little as three minutes, and return to the road without delay. This model, now a reality across major freight routes in China, represents a new era where energy, transportation, and logistics converge seamlessly.

"I was surprised," remembers Agarwal. His astonishment was not merely at the efficiency of the system but also the strategic implications it held for the global trucking industry. In China, a business model has emerged: trucks sold without batteries, relying on a subscription-based leasing system that shifts the responsibility for energy storage to state-run enterprises. Power companies manage vast networks ...