new delhi, Sept. 5 -- Chinese automakers Sany and Foton are pouring electric heavy trucks into India as established local manufacturers like Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland lag behind, raising concerns that low import tariffs are giving foreign firms an easy route into the local market. Changsha, Hunan-based Sany, which also manufactures industrial and construction equipment, sold 722 electric truck tractors in India in FY27, compared with five in the same period last year, data from the government's Vahan portal showed. Foton's sales rose thanks to its partnership with Indian firm Energy in Motion (EIM), with sales reaching 146 units in the first five months of FY27, against none in the same period last year. EIM had gained access to import, assemble and sell Foton trucks last year. The jump in sales has made Sany the largest heavy electric truck seller in the Indian market, ahead of number two Montra Electric, which sold 310 electric trucks in the first five months of FY27. Energy in Motion ranks third, ahead of Tata Motors, Eka Mobility and Ashok Leyland. Queries mailed to Ashok Leyland, Tata Motors, Eka Mobility and Sany remained unanswered. The fast growth in sales of these Chinese truckmakers has alarmed Indian executives, who argue that there is a need to eliminate the duty advantage enjoyed by these truckmakers, which can sell cheaper without building local manufacturing or R&D presence. This comes as infra firms ramp up electrification of their own supply chains, with Birla Group's Ultratech announcing on Wednesday that it will procure 600 EVs from Indian and Chinese truckmakers for its operations. "It takes at least five years of work on research and development, and setting up manufacturing facilities to make these trucks. Local industry will need some level of protection," a senior executive at a commercial vehicle manufacturer said on the condition of anonymity. Narendra Murkumbi, MD at EIM, said the cost differential between electric and diesel trucks was too high for Indian transporters, creating a hurdle in adoption of this technology. "We have managed to disrupt the sector which has seen lack of innovation to cut down costs. Along with Foton trucks, we have also invested in a high-capacity charging and battery swapping network, which has helped us drive down costs and lead electrification in the heavy truck segment," he said. The matter gathered attention when Tata Motors MD & CEO Girish Wagh highlighted it last month. Notably, Sany sold 605 out of 722 trucks in August, at a time when clamour over these import duty structures picked up pace. "There is one anomaly today in the duty structure wherein the electric tractors, they seem to have been missed from the duty structure, and therefore, they enjoy a very low import duty of 10% today," Wagh said at the company's its post-earnings conference last month. "This is something which has been brought to the notice of the government and we are very thankful that ministry of heavy industries has already picked it up and also requested the ministry of finance further to correct this anomaly," he said. These vehicles are typically in the 55-tonne heavy truck segment....