How to Finance India’s First 10,000 Zero-Emission Trucks

The report identifies four primary risks—product, customer, operational, and residual value—that hinder the financing of zero-emission trucks (ZETs) in India. It argues that deploying the first 10,000 ZETs is a critical step to demonstrate viability and build market confidence. To achieve this, the document advocates for a collaborative risk-management framework involving original equipment manufacturers, fleet operators, charge point operators, financiers, and development finance institutions to lower default probabilities and distribute potential losses.

• Financing zero-emission trucks (ZETs) in India is hindered by four primary risks: product risk (lack of lifecycle data and rapid tech evolution), customer risk (high up-front costs and uncertain revenue), operational risk (insufficient charging and maintenance), and residual value risk (absence of a secondary market).
• The report emphasizes that financing the initial 10,000 ZETs is a necessary prerequisite for establishing technology confidence and creating a basis for future scaling in the Indian market.
• Accelerating ZET adoption requires specific roles from various stakeholders: OEMs should provide warranties and buyback guarantees; fleet operators should secure revenue contracts; charge point operators should implement charging-as-a-service; financiers should use customized instruments; and DFIs/MDBs should provide concessional capital and risk-sharing facilities.

APA

RMI (2025). How to Finance India’s First 10,000 Zero-Emission Trucks. https://rmi.org/resources/how-to-finance-indias-first-10000-zero-emission-trucks/

Chicago

RMI. How to Finance India’s First 10,000 Zero-Emission Trucks. 2025. https://rmi.org/resources/how-to-finance-indias-first-10000-zero-emission-trucks/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=How to Finance India’s First 10,000 Zero-Emission Trucks |date=21 February 2025 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/how-to-finance-indias-first-10000-zero-emission-trucks/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2025how, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{How to Finance India’s First 10,000 Zero-Emission Trucks}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2025}, month = feb, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/how-to-finance-indias-first-10000-zero-emission-trucks/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }