The Laneshift program, a joint initiative by C40 Cities and The Climate Pledge, has spent three years proving the business case for electric freight trucks in India, Brazil, and Mexico. The 2025 Impact Report presents the results. For transport managers watching the global transition, the numbers are worth knowing.
What was deployed
357 electric freight vehicles are now operational across Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba, and Mexico City, supported by 46 fast-charging stations. In India, 20 heavy-duty electric trucks completed 600 commercial trips along the Bengaluru–Chennai corridor, covering more than 200,000 kilometers carrying real freight loads. After route optimization, travel times dropped from 11 hours to 9.5 hours — matching diesel performance.
The emissions case
Current deployments are projected to avoid 3,215 tonnes of CO₂ per year, rising to a cumulative 31,007 tonnes by 2035. Seven tonnes of harmful air pollutants — NOx and PM2.5 — have already been reduced. In the Latin American cities studied, freight accounts for only 9% of vehicle activity but generates 12% of transport-related greenhouse gas emissions. A familiar ratio for anyone working in urban logistics in Europe.
The cost case
Operating and maintaining electric vehicles is already 10% cheaper than diesel equivalents across all program regions. The remaining barrier is the upfront purchase cost. Laneshift’s financial mechanisms — shared charging hubs with subscription models, and small-business financing schemes in Mexico — are projected to bring cost parity forward by up to five years. In Mexico City, parity is now projected for 2040 instead of 2045.
Jobs
Infrastructure investments generated 1,151 job-years during construction — 140% more than diesel equivalents. EV maintenance jobs require higher skills and command better wages. The transition creates employment; it does not simply replace it.
The honest lesson
The program initially focused on vehicle performance. Experience shifted the emphasis: charging infrastructure is the primary barrier to scale, not the trucks themselves. Coordinating timing between city governments, fleet operators, and financiers proved harder than anticipated. Three cities — Bogotá, Medellín, and Quito — were dropped when public-private alignment failed to materialize.
The takeaway for transport managers
The technology works at scale. The business case closes faster with policy support and shared infrastructure. And the biggest risk in this transition is not the vehicles — it is the readiness of the ecosystem around them.
Source: Laneshift Impact Report 2025, C40 Cities & The Climate Pledge