Gurgaon, Haryana, India: An exasperated Pawan Kumar fell in a wooden cot in the courtyard immediately after returning from another strenuous trip to Delhi and back in his diesel truck. His 9-year-old son came to tell him there are visitors to see him. Looking at his plight, visitors felt they better walk up to him to speak to him. He was lifting himself by the time they stepped out and immediately folded his hands in greeting.
Sensing the weariness on his face, Subodh enquired before even exchanging pleasantries, curious to understand, “What is it that troubles you most about driving?”
“I breathe in the poisonous smoke, Sir. You get so concerned when there is air pollution in winter months, but we face the same pollution for each day of the year. Last time I had a cough, it continued for over six months and only went away when I took a 15-day leave.”
“The roads in India are filled with vehicles everywhere driving with utter disregard to any norms. If something happens, we are blamed regardless of whose fault it is. I am literally standing on the clutch in my truck half the time. My seat is not that comfortable even after I have put a cushion made by my wife on them.”, he continued.
“My back hurts from all the exertion. I was waiting for my son to start earning, but I don’t think I will be able to continue for beyond two years now.”
What was a routine interaction with Pawan for setting up the processes, led the foundation of many of the actions from the early days in the Company’s journey. The team became sure that the organization will strive to make a meaningful difference in the lives of the entire community. The rampant pollution and progressive drop in air quality in National Capital Region in India further strengthened the collective resolve of substituting highly polluting heavy diesel trucks with electric trucks.
The truck drivers who drive heavy trucks daily for millions of miles so that the people enjoy the luxuries of life have a short working life of fifteen years before they get burned out. They breathe in polluted air mixed with emissions from the exhaust pipes of their and fellow drivers’ trucks. They drive these trucks while seated on poorly fitted unergonomic seats in unpredictable traffic having to continuously keep pressing heavy clutch pedals.
In the design of the Electric Truck, the team focused on the drivers. Despite 60% price premium over conventional transmission, an automatic transmission was chosen. No price is too high for lengthening the working lives of the drivers and lessening their driving fatigue.
Three years down, the Company’s empathetic work has ensured much love and wishes from many people. Advanced bookings were made by people from all over India after commercial trial of the Electric Truck.
Pawan, who now drives an Electric Truck, remarks “This truck makes me feel relaxed. Driving this truck is better than driving a car.”
Brimming with excitement, Pawan plans to continue driving for at least 20 years now. Pawan drove his son, now 12, with pride in his new truck. Pawan’s ambition is to own an Electric Truck now. With improved driving convenience and cleaner air to breathe in, the Company hopes to improve the lives of millions of truck and trailer drivers like Pawan in India.
A mass substitution of diesel trucks with Electric will significantly enhance the overall air quality in India, particularly near urban agglomerations. Each truck will save 113 MT of CO2 emission annually which is equivalent to planting 4,520 trees. Replacing million such trucks will lead to savings of 113 million Tons of CO2 emissions (reducing India’s carbon footprint by 5%).
While Electric revolution is most viable in commercial vehicles at present, the entire automotive sector will drive down this road subsequently as scale and scope economies further improve viability. The Company hopes to be the catalyst of this change which can preserve the quality of its natural resources for the generations to come. The entire team is fully in sync with the direction in which the Company is moving forward with rarely seen motivation and drive even when faced with challenges and adversities. Government should come out with further measures and simplify existing schemes for accelerating the adoption so that the evolution can be fast-tracked.
