Montra Electric Bets Big on EV Truck Future With New Manesar Plant

There’s a quiet but unmistakable shift happening in India’s commercial vehicle sector. While most headlines in the EV space are still about scooters, cars, and last-mile delivery, one of the country’s older industrial houses is now aiming straight at the heart of freight.

Murugappa Group’s EV arm, Montra Electric HCV (IPL Tech), has just cut the ribbon on a sprawling electric truck plant in Manesar, Haryana. The facility, built to produce 6,000 electric heavy commercial vehicles (eHCVs) annually, may sound like just another number in a market flooded with announcements—but on the ground, it feels more like a statement of intent.

A Factory That Feels Different

Spread across a 255,000 sq ft site, the plant isn’t just another assembly shed. It showcases what Montra thinks the future of manufacturing looks like. A 150,000 sq ft built-up area humming with robotic arms, digital dashboards, and AGVs gliding silently between stations.

And the most striking sight? A battery production line run entirely by women—something I haven’t seen at this scale in the Indian EV world yet. It’s not tokenistic either; the company has been training this workforce for months to handle complex battery assembly and testing.

Inside, you’ll find a 1.7 GWh in-house battery pack capacity, testing rigs for electronics, brake and roll tests, and even “shower tests” to simulate heavy rains. A senior engineer I spoke to (off the record) joked that the plant “could probably build a truck underwater if needed.”

Why Manesar, Why Now

So why pick Manesar? Geography, for one. Being just off the Delhi–Jaipur highway, it gives Montra easy access to suppliers, NCR customers, and industrial clusters. But it’s also symbolic. This area has long been a hub for diesel commercial vehicles. Placing an EV truck factory here is like planting a flag: “The future of freight lives here too.”

And timing matters. The e-commerce boom and urban pollution concerns are forcing logistics companies to look for cleaner alternatives. If Montra can mass-produce reliable electric trucks at a decent price point, it could ride a wave few others have truly cracked yet.

Inside the Numbers (and the Hype)

Here’s what the company is saying right now:

• 6,000 trucks per year initially, with a path to 7,500 units.
• ~74% localisation of components (battery cells still imported for now).
• 60% robotic automation, Industry 4.0 practices throughout.
• Full-stack testing labs are built into the factory itself.

On paper, it’s impressive. On the floor, it looks convincing. But like any manufacturing story, the real test will be the first batches that hit actual roads and fleets. Battery performance, payload under stress, maintenance costs—these are the details fleet owners care about, and no press release can fudge that.

Company’s View: A Defining Step

P.V. Satyanarayana, Chief Business Officer of Montra Electric HCV, called the launch “a defining step in India’s transition to sustainable logistics.” He also stressed that the manufacturing lines are modular, meaning they can adapt to new models or configurations quickly.

Montra isn’t shy about seeking incentives either. Executives hint at tapping central and state schemes, including the upcoming PM E-Drive plan, to keep total costs of ownership competitive. They’re also floating ideas about renewable energy integration at the plant and even battery recycling units in later phases.

The Challenges They’ll Have to Tackle

Here’s where the industry veteran in me can’t help but weigh in. This is a bold move, but it’s not without some serious roadblocks:

• Performance vs. Promise: Fleet managers don’t care about fancy plant tours; they want trucks that actually deliver range, reliability, and uptime.
• Cell Supply Risk: As long as battery cells are imported, you’re exposed to currency swings and global supply hiccups.
• Charging Infrastructure: India’s public and fleet charging for heavy vehicles is still patchy. Unless Montra helps build that ecosystem, adoption could stall.
• Service Reach: Heavy trucks need widespread service networks, spare parts, and trained technicians. That takes years to build.
• Margins Under Pressure: High automation reduces labor costs but raises capital and depreciation costs. Volumes have to be there to justify it.

None of these is a deal breaker, but they’re real.

Read: How to Start an EV Charging Station in India

Why This Plant Could Still Be a Game-Changer

Despite the caveats, I’ll admit: this feels like a step forward for India’s EV freight story. Most companies are content to tinker at the edges—small pilot batches, token electric trucks. Montra is going for actual scale, and that’s refreshing.

The all-women battery line is more than PR—it signals a new kind of workforce inclusion in an industry that’s been overwhelmingly male. The robotics and automation show they’re not just building low-tech, cheap trucks but aiming for consistency and quality.

And let’s be honest, Indian logistics desperately needs this. Diesel prices aren’t going down, emission norms are tightening, and cities are choking. An electric heavy commercial vehicle that can handle real-world payloads at a competitive cost could unlock a huge market.

What to Watch in the Next 12–18 Months

Here’s what I’ll be tracking as this story unfolds:

• First Fleet Deliveries: Which logistics or e-commerce players sign up first, and how do they review the trucks after six months?
• Battery Health Data: Degradation rates, charging times, and range consistency under Indian conditions.
• Expansion Beyond NCR: If Montra can scale service and charging in Tier-2/3 towns where a lot of freight actually originates.
• Renewables & Recycling: Whether the plant’s sustainability talk turns into measurable action.
• Export Hints: Any signs Montra is eyeing neighbouring South Asian markets once production stabilises.

If even half of this goes right, we could be looking at India’s first serious contender in the electric heavy vehicle space, not just another start-up experiment.

My Take as an Industry Watcher

Standing on that factory floor, watching automated guided vehicles glide past a team of women assembling battery modules, it hit me: India’s EV revolution is quietly expanding beyond scooters and flashy SUVs. It’s creeping into the unglamorous but vital world of freight and logistics.

This plant won’t solve every problem overnight, and Montra will need to prove its trucks on the road, not just in brochures. But it’s a credible start. And if you’ve been waiting for a signal that big, established groups are finally getting serious about electric heavy vehicles, this is it.

The Montra Electric plant in Manesar is less about one company and more about a shift in mindset. That diesel-fueled dominance of Indian freight isn’t invincible. With the right mix of manufacturing scale, reliability, and supportive policy, electric trucks could genuinely take a bite out of it in this decade.

Bottom line: For all the buzz around EVs, this is one of the first facilities in India that feels like it’s preparing to build electric trucks, not as a side project but as a mainstream product line. If Montra executes well, it could end up shaping how goods move across the country’s highways by 2030. And that’s news worth paying attention to.