Energy In Motion Ltd (EIM) has entered into a strategic partnership with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) to establish and operate fast-charging and battery-swapping infrastructure for heavy commercial vehicles (HCVs) at select HPCL retail outlets across India, marking a significant step towards building a nationwide charging ecosystem for electric freight transport.
Under the agreement, EIM will deploy charging and battery-swapping infrastructure in phases across HPCL’s extensive network of more than 25,000 retail outlets, including those located on major highways and expressways.
The rollout will initially focus on key freight corridors such as Mumbai–Pune, Delhi–Jaipur and Chennai–Bengaluru over the next 18 to 24 months, before expanding to other routes across the country.
Building India’s freight EV ecosystem
The partnership is designed to combine the complementary strengths of both companies.
While EIM will own and operate the battery inventory, charging equipment and battery-swapping infrastructure, HPCL will provide space, power connectivity, utilities and common facilities at its fuel stations.
The model is expected to accelerate deployment by leveraging HPCL’s established retail network while allowing EIM to focus on technology and fleet operations.
The charging stations will be integrated with EIM’s digital platform, enabling real-time charger availability, digital payments and remote monitoring, providing fleet operators with greater visibility and operational efficiency.
Addressing range anxiety for electric trucks
The collaboration aims to tackle two of the biggest challenges facing commercial electric vehicle adoption—reliable charging infrastructure and confidence for long-distance operations.
Unlike conventional charging alone, the network will also offer battery swapping, enabling compatible heavy commercial vehicles to replace a discharged battery with a fully charged one in about seven minutes.
For logistics companies and fleet operators, the reduced turnaround time translates into higher vehicle utilisation, lower downtime and improved operating economics.
HPCL’s retail outlets are expected to provide dependable charging locations, thanks to their strategic highway presence, existing electrical infrastructure, safety systems and round-the-clock operations.
Expansion plans
EIM is building an integrated ecosystem for electric heavy commercial vehicles, including megawatt-scale charging and battery-swapping infrastructure across India.
The company launched its first electric heavy commercial vehicle, the Ashwa 55-ton e-tractor, on August 1, 2025.
It has already commissioned six heavy-duty battery swap stations in the Delhi-NCR region and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) area, with a combined daily capacity of 840 battery swaps.
EIM plans to increase this network to 40 heavy commercial vehicle swap-cum-charging stations by the end of March 2027.
Reliability is key
Energy In Motion Ltd Managing Director Narendra Murkumbi said dependable infrastructure would be critical to accelerating the transition to electric freight transport.
“Charging infrastructure succeeds or fails on reliability. Working with HPCL allows us to place charging and swapping where drivers already stop—sites with power, space, amenities, safety systems and staff on duty. Combining our battery and fleet expertise with HPCL’s nationwide retail network lets us build dependable swap-and-charge hubs on the corridors that carry India’s freight, and to do it at the pace the transition demands,” he said.