New Delhi: With electrification being observed on Indian roads, OEMs are gearing up to till the farm fields with this technology. The agriculture sector is getting ready to start transiting from diesel-dominated tractors to electric ones.
Though this trend is still in its infancy stage, the automobile industry has started highlighting the necessity of bringing this technology into the farm sector to achieve 30% electric mobility by 2030.
This startup is bringing one of the first commercial electric tractors to the market, while big OEMs like Kubota Tractors, Mahindra Tractors, HAV, and Sonalika Tractors have also demonstrated the prototype for the same. This indicates their roadmap for entering the potential electric tractor market.
Currently, this tractor industry is still dominated by diesel tractors, attributed to multiple reasons such as low cost of ownership, accessibility of fuels, and most importantly tried and tested fuel type. However, electric tractors have a low cost of ownership, high charging capacity, and better torque and power performance compared with diesel counterparts.
However, this technology has a long road to travel for its complete adoption nationwide. As per the report, Indian Tractor Industry- Charging up for the Electric Revolution by ICRA the challenges for the adoption of nationwide electric tractors are unavailability of charging infrastructure, high initial ownership, high power requirement, and inadequate financing availability.
An 8-year-old start-up, AutoNxt is fully betting on electric tractors and its advanced technology to bring EVolution into the country. The company has recently started commercialising its vehicles and has received certificates for its technology from Maharashtra RTO and ARAI.
Diesel Vs Electric Tractors
Diesel-powered tractors which have created their monopoly chalk up to multiple reasons, but to address the need of the hour for a sustainable future, a transition from diesel to alternate eco-fuel is required. Thus, one such can be the adoption of electric tractors in the fields.
Though the initial cost of ownership is 2x or 3x of what a diesel tractor might cost, its running cost is very low corresponding to a diesel vehicle, said Kaustubh Dhonde, Founder and CEO at AutoNxt Automation to ETAuto. A comparative study by IOPscience on e-tractors and diesel tractors revealed if a diesel tractor’s running cost is INR 93.5/km then for an e-tractor it will be INR 14.15/km.
Dhonde, an electronics engineer came up with the idea of an electric tractor start-up after witnessing the miseries of his uncle who had owned a diesel tractor. His uncle who is a small farmer in Mahabaleshwar had to sell his new electric tractor within 1.5 years after buying. Dhonde then realised not only his uncle but several farmers resale their newly bought tractors due to the high cost of ownership such as fuel cost, hiring a driver (for better usage of the tractor), along with medical problems such as loss of hearing, and severe back pain after the usage.
“We have worked on two things, one is the cost and second is the torque….which makes our electric tractors 30-40% more efficient than the diesel tractor,” added Dhonde. Another reason for high torque at low RPM is the e-tractor’s high battery combination that makes the vehicle pull almost two times the load a diesel vehicle can, he added.
“E-tractors are touted to be more fuel efficient than diesel tractors, leading to substantial operational savings over a lifetime of operations,” stated ICRA’s report. Electric tractors not only reduce financial expenses for the farmer post-purchase due to lower ownership costs, it also have better efficiency and high load-carrying capacity.
Startup Bet on Autonomous Technology
The company is now planning to introduce similar technology in the tractor industry that Tesla has brought in the passenger vehicle segment, says the Founder. This is done by combining the company’s electric tractors with advanced technology such as Level 3 of autonomous technology and quick charging capacity. “For our tractors, it is basic level three autonomy, similar to what Tesla is doing, but this is restricted to a farm area,” says Founder and CEO at AutoNxt Automation. The tractor automatically gets disabled when it senses the road as it only works on the soil, added the CEO. The ‘driverless tractor’ is yet to be commercialised, however, by September 2025 is expected to be launched, said the Founder.
One of the big hurdles that restrict potential buyers from buying an e-tractor is long charging time. AutoNxt’s tractor can be charged in three hours with the company’s chargers, says Founder of AutoNxt thus providing a solution to another hindrance.
Aiming 20% Market Share by 2030
Unlike other automobile segments, the tractor industry has not observed major transformations in technology and electrification. The Indian tractor industry is estimated at USD 7.42 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 10.28 billion by 2029, according to Mordor Intelligence analysis on the Indian agricultural tractor machinery market.
This new trend of technology will be witnessed over time with the experience of the end user (farmers) in e-tractors along with the government policy push that could highlight the importance of this transit. However, some states have already or are considering initiating subsidy policies for electric tractors
In this market, AutoNxt is confident about creating its presence in the market by 2030. It is currently focusing on the B2B model for revenue generation and is in talks with multiple organisations for tie-ups. As one of the earliest players in this market, AutoNxt is spreading awareness about this technology by collaborating with individual buyers who buy such tractors in bulk and further lease them. When asked, the Founder said, these individuals buy multiple tractors and further give them on rent to the small farmers for usage. This will help the farmer to avoid the issue of initial high cost of ownership and understand the new electric technology in tractors through first-hand experience.
“I think we can capture 10-20% of the Indian tractor market in the coming three to four years…. We are strategising to sell 100 tractors by the end of FY25,” says the CEO.
Dhonde also emphasised the company’s expansion plans in the B2C(Business to Consumer) model for which they are planning to have another fundraising round.
To complete the order book and focus on its autonomous technology, AutoNxt is planning to have another fundraising round in the coming months. INR 30 crore was raised by the company in April through Saama in its Series-A fundraising round last year.
It is still early days for electric tractors to become a full-fledged trend in the country, however, there are multiple big players in the pipeline to enter this segment. It will be interesting to unfold the upcoming changes and challenges for observing this new technology in the field.
