Montra Electric has signed an agreement with Wonder Cement to deploy approximately 250 Rhino 5538 electric heavy-duty trucks across the 1,450 km industrial freight corridor, marking one of India’s largest long-haul electric truck deployments in the cement logistics sector.
The electric truck fleet will operate on the route connecting Nimbahera in Rajasthan to Dahej and Tuna ports in Gujarat, crossing key industrial areas of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The deployment aims to support sustainable freight transportation while reducing emissions in one of the country’s key logistics corridors.
The fleet includes Montra Electric’s Rhino 5538 EV 4×2 tractor-trailer, a 55 tonne gross combination weight (GCW) electric truck engineered to transport heavy industrial cargo such as cement and steel. Designed for demanding commercial operations, the vehicle is built to provide high payload capacity while enabling zero-emission long-distance freight transportation.
To support uninterrupted operations, the corridor will be equipped with 13 dedicated charging stations with a total of 39 chargers. The infrastructure will cater to both conventional fast-charging trucks and battery-swapping variants, enabling complete battery replacement in less than six minutes, significantly reducing vehicle downtime.
According to Montra Electric, full deployment of the 250-truck fleet is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 39,500 tons annually, highlighting the environmental benefits of electrification of heavy commercial transportation.
Commenting on the initiative, Jalaj Gupta, Managing Director, Montra Electric, said the deployment demonstrates the operational capability of heavy-duty electric trucks on sustained long-haul freight routes. Navneet Sethi, Chief Executive Officer, EM&HCV Division, Montra Electric, said that Rhino 5538 has been engineered for high utilization and heavy payload applications, the project will serve as a scalable model for the future electrification of long distance freight transport in India.
The partnership represents a significant milestone for India’s commercial EV ecosystem, demonstrating that electric heavy-duty trucks supported by dedicated charging infrastructure can play a vital role in decarbonizing industrial logistics while maintaining operational efficiency.
