Index
- Introduction
- Know More About Electric Car
- Promising Future of Electric Cars in India
- Advantages of EV Mobility over Fuel Vehicles
- The Challenges Ahead
- Grid Capacity – An Issue or Opportunity?
- Steps Indian Government Could Take to Promote EV Mobility
- Role of Auto Manufacturers
- How Long Before the Mass Adoption of Electric Vehicles in India?
Our nation’s next-generation mobility has taken a new step under our current government (or as the millennials say ‘Modi Sarkar’) with its National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (MEMMP) 2020. Environment Think Tak released the Climate Risk Index for 2020 in December 2019, wherein the global vulnerability ladder, our country’s rank worsened from 14th in 2017 to 5th in 2018. It makes it more crucial for India to adopt electric vehicles in priority to combat its reliance on fossil fuels.
We have seen a push on electric vehicles when it comes to 2-wheelers and 3-wheelers; however, we can’t deny the undying requirement for electric vehicles for public and private transportation. There are various challenges ahead for us in this sector, although many auto manufacturers are looking for this widely untapped area with positivity. Before we begin with the future of electric vehicles in India, lets first look into an electric car.
Know More About Electric Cars
For beginners, an electric car is just another car that runs on electric motors through energy stored in rechargeable batteries. Hence, it won’t require burning petrol or diesel and exhausting fumes.
There are 3 types of EVs available at present:
- Solar-powered electric vehicles
- Hybrid electric cars (they are powered by a mixture of both batteries and internal combustion)
- Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) or electric cars with on-board battery packs
You may also refer to electric cars as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) for mobility and environmental conservation.
Several auto manufacturers have announced electric four-wheelers for India including:
- Hyundai Kona Electric
- Mahindra e-Verito
- Mahindra e2o
- Porche Taycan
- Tata Tigor EV 2019
- MG ZS
However, we will need many more if India takes essential steps to become an EV-nation. With several speculations rising about Elon Musk launching Tesla in India, many other local and global auto manufacturers are now estimating the Indian market for electric vehicles. Now let’s talk about the future of electric vehicles in India and challenges ahead.
Promising Future of Electric Vehicles in India
Millennials are becoming more interested in electric cars from the past several years as per the trend on Google Trends comparison to e-two-wheelers and petrol/diesel cars. It makes electric cars more promising to Indian mass and industry leaders, along with many other reasons.
Akhil Aryan, CEO, and co-founder of ION energy, believes that adopting e-vehicles, along with electrification of existing mobility and developing infrastructure, will create a swift in India. There will be a significant impact on our metropolitan cities as the pollution there has reached on claustrophobic levels.
Greg Mora further appended that majority of Indians are currently youngsters who are encouraged towards reformation, sustainability, and environmental conservation. Various established amalgamations and startups would ensure the domestic availability of products for the manufacturing of e-vehicles and batteries and other components. It would make the future of electric vehicles in India more promising.
Advantages of EV Mobility over Fuel Vehicles
There are several advantages of electric vehicles over fossil-fueled cars, including its performance and driveability. It also has a lower operating cost compared to conventional engines.
- Electric vehicles are 70 to 80% cheaper to maintain compared to Fuel Cars.
- It is cheaper to recharge a battery compared to refueling a conventional fuel tank.
The Challenges Ahead
Breaking the previous cycle and moving towards new consumer behavior will always be a challenge for us. Many users many get anxious over the speed and range when it comes to an electric vehicle. Hence, there is an essential requirement for education and promotion to fight against several myths regarding e-vehicles in the Indian market.
There are numbers of challenges ahead make a positive future for electric vehicles in India, including:
- Charging infrastructure
- Performance of batteries
- End the supply-demand gap
- Recycling Stations for Batteries
Grid Capacity – An Issue or Opportunity?
India will require at least 10 GWh cells by 2022 and further expansion to 50 GWh by 2025 as per a report by Niti Aayog for a prosperous future of electric vehicles in India. It is a huge ask, considering we could only add 20 GWh each year to our grid to meet increasing demands for other energy requirements.
We would need to increase our adoption for solar power, according to the Aryan, ION Energy. India is currently on its path to becoming one of the largest solar and energy storage market by 2025. It would reduce our dependency on coal still, India purchases a lot of coal. If we combine the solar-power grid and organized general improvements, it would ensure adequate charging infrastructure for a positive future of electric vehicles in India.
Steps Indian Government Could Take to Promote EV Mobility
The Indian government is presently working on making over 30% of its electric vehicle by 2030.
Below are some of the steps our government has taken to promote the future of electric vehicles in India:
- Special Policy measures; slashing GST on electric vehicles to 5% compared to combustion engines 28%
- 1.5 lakh INR tax exemption on loan for purchasing an electric vehicle
- 10,000 Cr. allocation to FAME II for standardizing electric mobility
- Proposal for exemption of customs duty on several electric vehicle parts by Union Cabinet
- Cabinet has outlay a 5 year phased manufacturing program until 2024
- Over a dozen states have proposed or issues policies for EV till date with the first one being Delhi
We could improve the odds in favor of the future of electric vehicles in India by subsidizing the manufacturing of EVs in every aspect. Effective market strategies with proper research would ensure the appropriate management of rollouts by companies.
Role of Auto Manufacturers
There are 5 critical areas that auto manufacturers are looking at to boost their ecosystem and for the successful future of electric vehicles in India.
- Addressing High Manufacturing Cost
- Maintainance of Standard Quality
- Boosting Local Manufacturing
- Lower Cost of Ownership
- Eliminating Range and Performance Anxiety
How Long Before the Mass Adoption of Electric Vehicles in India?
According to the media reports, the penetration of electric vehicles is only 1% in India, with 95% of it being e-two-wheelers. Between April and December 2019, only 1500 electric cars were sold for personal use compared to 94% of e-scooters in the first six months of 2020.
Since the Indian market is unpredictable and lacks a sustainable demand, experts must assess the period required to switch to Evs for India. However, the industry leaders are quite favorable for the future of electric vehicles in India and believe that the change will happen very soon.
