Mahindra Starts Work on Electric Trucks, First EV Bus Due in FY27 

Mahindra has started initial development work on electric trucks and is simultaneously working on its first electric bus, extending its electric vehicle push into larger commercial vehicles.

According to a senior company official, the electric truck programme is still at an early stage and is not an immediate priority for the automaker, which continues to see significant growth opportunities in conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) commercial vehicles.

“We are working on our first electric bus product. Parallely we have started the project of initial work to make some electric trucks also available,” Vinod Sahay, President - Trucks & Buses, Executive Chairman - SML Mahindra and Member of the Group Executive Board, Mahindra Group, said during a media roundtable.

The company has not disclosed a timeline for introducing its electric trucks. Sahay said Mahindra wants to have the technology ready but will time the products based on the development of the market. 

On the electric bus front, Sahay had said in April that SML Mahindra’s first electric bus was under development and slated for launch in FY27. 

Mahindra already has a presence in electric commercial vehicles at the lighter end of the market through Mahindra Last Mile Mobility. The company launched the ZEO electric four-wheeler small commercial vehicle in October 2024 for urban logistics and also sells electric three-wheelers. The latest programme would take its electric push further into its truck-and-bus portfolio.

The comments came as Mahindra launched the BLAZO i-TRK on August 14, a new generation of heavy commercial vehicles powered by a 320hp diesel engine. The launch underlines the company's continued focus on improving the economics of ICE trucks even as it starts preparing electric alternatives.

Short-haul Applications Could Lead Electric Truck Adoption

Mahindra sees a stronger near-term case for electric heavy trucks in applications where vehicles operate over relatively short and predictable routes.

Sahay said long-haul trucking poses a challenge because operators need high range, which in turn requires larger and heavier batteries. Heavy trucks can cover around one lakh kilometres a 
year, with some journeys running into thousands of kilometres, he said.

“If you make this truck electric, the minimum range you would give at least 500 kilometers. For 500 kilometers you need a 2-ton battery pack. One is the cost of the battery, but more importantly, it takes away the payload,” Sahay said.

Payload is particularly important for truck operators because losing carrying capacity directly affects the economics of each trip.

Instead, Sahay sees applications such as cement inbound and outbound logistics as better early candidates for electrification. Such trucks can operate on routes of around 150-200 km and use smaller battery packs, while charging can be arranged at factories and loading or unloading points.

Mahindra has also completed a pilot project involving a hydrogen truck, but Sahay said such a product may not be introduced until the market and supporting ecosystem are ready.

India's Electric CV Market Develops at Different Speeds

India's commercial vehicle electrification is progressing unevenly across categories, with three-wheelers leading adoption, followed by lighter goods vehicles and buses, while medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks remain a small market.

Electric commercial vehicle retail sales, excluding the separately classified three-wheeler category, more than doubled to 19,454 units in FY26 from 8,820 units in FY25, a rise of 120%, according to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations. 

At the lighter end of the four-wheeler cargo market, electric LCVs are also gathering pace with 6,284 electric LCVs sold in Q1 FY27, up 31.2% from 4,789 units in the preceding quarter. 

Electric buses are also moving into a larger adoption phase, helped by government and public transport procurement. E-bus sales rose 37% to 5,356 units in FY26, according to Vahan data. By comparison, medium- and heavy-duty electric truck sales stood at only about 840 units during the year, showing how early the segment remains.

The difference reflects the operating pattern of the two segments. Buses generally operate on fixed routes and return to depots where charging can be planned. Heavy trucks can travel much longer distances and carry revenue-generating payload, making battery weight, charging time and infrastructure bigger considerations.

The government is seeking to narrow that gap. The Ministry of Heavy Industries' PM E-DRIVE portal currently provides ₹500 crore of support for up to 5,643 electric trucks, while ₹4,391 crore has been earmarked for up to 14,028 electric buses. Electric truck incentives cover vehicles between 3.5 tonnes and 55 tonnes. 

Mahindra Builds Up Truck and Bus Business

Mahindra's electric development plans come as the group is also consolidating its conventional truck and bus operations.

The board of SML Mahindra in July approved the acquisition of Mahindra Truck and Bus Division from M&M through a slump sale. The transaction, expected to be completed during FY27, will bring Mahindra's light, intermediate and heavy trucks and buses under a unified commercial vehicle platform.

The combined Mahindra Trucks & Buses and SML business sold 9,389 vehicles in Q1 FY27, up 11% year-on-year. Passenger vehicle volumes, which largely comprise buses, increased 20% to 5,939 units, while cargo volumes slipped 1% to 3,450 units, according to Mahindra. 

Mahindra had acquired a controlling stake in SML in August 2025 as part of its plan to build scale in commercial vehicles. The company said at the time that the acquisition would take its share of the above-3.5-tonne commercial vehicle market to around 6%, with an ambition to increase it to 10-12% by FY31 and more than 20% by FY36.