Tamil Nadu based mining equipment company, Propel Industries has developed an electric vehicle or dump EV truck and plans to start commercial production shortly.
MD V. Senthil Kumar said while Propel had obtained approval for use of the vehicle in mines, the EV truck would be rolled out next year for on-road use after securing the required permits.
The company would invest in creating production capacities for the vehicle. The electric vehicle has a motor with automatic transmission and the charging time varies from one hour to three hours.
The battery and charging time will be customized depending on the power supply available at the buyer’s mines.
The EV truck has been tested at 25 mines and the company has started booking orders for commercial production, the MD said.
The FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India) scheme is available for two-wheelers to buses, but not for EV truck.
Trucks consume a lot of fuel and the government should extend benefits under the FAME scheme for the manufacture of electric trucks too, he said.