India’s electric freight sector has enormous potential, but traditional financing and business models are not sufficient to support wider adoption. New approaches are needed to overcome the high initial cost of electric trucks and range anxiety.
Financing models also need to be revised. New approaches such as battery financing, public-private partnerships for charging stations, leasing, green and sustainable bonds and other new approaches can provide long-term financing for electric freight companies.
C40 Cities is driving the transition to electric freight vehicles (EFVs) in India through its Laneshift program. We work closely with transport companies to identify optimal deployments for EFVs. This results-oriented approach ensures that plans are translated into real projects. To achieve this goal, C40 Cities is hosting a workshop in Delhi on “Financing Freight Electrification in India”. This event will provide a platform for discussions with key decision makers in the Indian freight industry.

Aim of the meeting

The objectives of the session “Financing Freight Electrification in India” are:

• Discuss new financing mechanisms and business models to support the large-scale deployment of electric trucks (EFVs).
• Discuss the requirements for using these new models.
• Discuss financing frameworks for the transition to zero-emission freight transport.

The overall objective is to enable stakeholders to take the first steps in implementing EFVs as part of their decarbonization goals. Shippers can switch to EFVs to reduce their Scope 3 emissions, while logistics service providers can switch to EFVs to reduce their operating costs. OEMs play a proactive role in developing EFVs and a reactive role in responding to market demand for EFVs. Given the sector’s unique challenges, financial institutions must develop new financing products.
This discussion will bring together all stakeholders in the ecosystem to discuss current challenges – related to policies, regulations, costs, technologies and financing. New financing and business models will be discussed to find the best path for stakeholders to adopt EFC. The discussion will provide input for the further development of financing and business models in the industry.