Image: FotonEIM is the official distributor of Foton’s electric heavy-duty commercial cargo vehicles in India and will supply a 55-tonne e-tractor called Ashwa for the deal with Transvolt Mobility. The latter will operate the Ashwa fleet at Kandla Port in Gandhidham, Gujarat, and at Jawaharlal Nehru Port-Nava Sheva in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra.Transvolt Mobility will use the 66 electric trucks to transport goods containers within the ports, in what will be its first port project in port operations. The adoption of EVs in these operations is expected to save up to 3,300 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. EIM aims to fulfil the entire order by next month and will also provide battery swapping and charging services.Essentially a rebadged version of Foton’s eAuman, the Ashwa is a battery-swappable electric truck. EIM introduced it as the first battery-swappable 55-tonne electric tractor certified by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) last year. The company uses a 282 kWh LFP battery pack that can be swapped in less than seven minutes for this model.Between January and December last year, EIM operated two battery swapping stations and recorded 4,122 battery swaps at these facilities. It expects to set up eight more battery swapping stations by the end of this month.“This order is further validation of the EIM approach to solving the entire EV challenge in heavy commercial vehicles by selling vehicles without battery pack and offering a charging service with swappable batteries,” said Ravindra Energy Vice Chairman and EIM Managing Director Narendra Murkumbi. Ravindra Energy, an Indian renewable energy company focused on solar power, owns a 49.5 per cent stake in EIM.Last year, EIM obtained exclusive rights to assemble, market and distribute Foton’s commercial vehicles with a capacity of over 18 tonnes for six years. The company plans to set up an electric truck factory with an investment of 10.65 billion rupees (97 million euros) in Talegaon, Maharashtra, although it has yet to reveal a timeline for the completion of this project.nseindia.com (PDF), facebook.com
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