Ampstar lands first fleet order: 100 electric trucks for JSW Cement

Ampstar has booked its first commercial fleet order: 100 electric heavy-duty trucks for JSW Cement, hauling cargo on a roughly 330-kilometre route between Vijayanagar in Karnataka and Nandyal in Andhra Pradesh. The fleet will move an estimated 1.25 lakh tonnes of clinker and slag every month — that's 125,000 tonnes, month in, month out, on a zero-diesel corridor.

Ampstar estimates the fleet will cut JSW Cement's diesel consumption in transport operations by roughly 45 million litres and save around 6,250 tonnes of CO2 over the contract period. Put the fuel figure in frame: 45 million litres is what a small tanker ship carries. That's the scale of diesel an Indian cement major burns moving raw materials by road.

What exactly did JSW order?

All 100 units are Ampstar's new 55-tonne 4×2 electric tractor, launched only last month in 4×2 and 6×4 variants. The model comes in fixed- and swappable-battery configurations, and JSW Cement has picked the swappable option — the more operationally demanding choice for a 330 km run.

The infrastructure is part of the package. JSW Eco-Mobility, a subsidiary of JSW Greentech, will build four battery-swapping stations along the Vijayanagar-Nandyal route. Paradeep Parivahan Limited, based in Jagatsinghpur, Orissa, will run logistics. The takeaway: this isn't a truck sale, it's a captive ecosystem — OEM, swapper and operator all inside one industrial group's orbit.

How does the truck stack up?

The production version gets a small bump over the launch spec. At last month's launch, Ampstar said the 55-tonne tractor features a 420 kW motor and a fixed or swappable 282 kWh LFP battery delivering 140 to 150 km of range. The JSW units will use a 430 kW motor instead; the company hasn't disclosed the range for that configuration, and the extra 10 kW likely shaves it only marginally.

The tractor has also cleared its paperwork. Both the 4×2 and 6×4 variants have received certification under the Central Motor Vehicle Rules from the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI). Ampstar says the model suits sidewall, tipper, skeletal, flatbed and bulker trailers.

Where will 500 to 2,000 EVs come from?

Ampstar expects to deliver between 500 and 2,000 EVs by March 2027 across its first two models — this tractor and a twelve-metre electric staff bus it launched the same month. Production will come from a 90-acre greenfield plant in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra.

Note the width of that guidance. Anywhere from 500 to 2,000 units is a fourfold spread, which tells you the order book is thin and the forecast is intention, not commitment. The JSW deal — 100 confirmed units — is currently the anchor holding the bottom of that range up.

One caveat for the production-watchers: the diesel and CO2 savings are Ampstar's own estimates, stated at contract announcement, not figures verified against operating data. Cement logistics is a brutal duty cycle for batteries; the swapping cadence across four stations will tell the real story.

What to watch next

The milestones that matter: commissioning of the first battery-swap station between Vijayanagar and Nandyal, first revenue-freight runs of the 430 kW tractors, and any follow-on orders that push Ampstar past its first 100 units. March 2027 is the deadline by which the 500-to-2,000 promise gets graded.