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ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN INDIA
India has set an ambitious goal of 30% electric vehicle (EV) adoption by 2030. The adoption is expected to be driven majorly by two/three-wheelers and commercial vehicles. This is a daunting task and there are many challenges on way to ensuring faster EV adoption.
EV adoption requires a three-way handshake and the same is true for the Indian automotive market:
- First: Automotive manufacturers need to provide an EV alternate to every non-EV model in production
- Second: Consumers should be able to afford the EV model
- Third: Infrastructure required to ensure end-to-end EV support
The majority of automotive manufacturers around the world have already started working on plans to launch a wide range of EV vehicles for consumers. Some are also working on an alternate EV model for every alternate fuel model in production. The more manufacturers join such initiative, the better it will be for a new market like India.
From the consumer point of view, the major concern is still about the range and the cost. Over the last 5 years, several startups in India have focused on EV solutions to capture the two/three-wheeler market. Some have been very successful in doing so. There are still concerns around the cost and range, as these two/three wheelers still take on an average of 5 hours to get fully charged to provide a range of about 150-200 KM (93-125 Miles).
Infrastructure is another key to the wider adoption of EV. Countries that have a well-developed market for EV (the USA, EU, etc.) have ensured that the policies are suitable for faster EV adoption including incentives for both manufacturers and consumers.
India though has taken a step in all the three points discussed above, there are still challenges on the EV 2030 roadmap.
EV CHALLENGES IN INDIA
EV growth in India is depended on overcoming the following challenges:
- Cost
- Range
- Option
- Environment
- Infrastructure
Cost: Given the technology required to develop an efficient EV is fairly new, the cost is becoming the major hurdle in wider adoption. The majority of India’s automotive buyers focus on vehicles that are compact and provide long-term reliability and cost benefits. This choice has driven automotive manufacturers in India to keep churning out new models that are not only compact and reliable, but are low cost too. Any new EV passenger vehicle will have to not only beat the entry-level fuel-powered models but will also need to ensure that there is no compromise on the features.
Range: India is still a fuel-powered automotive market. Users have adapted to the fact that they need not worry about waiting to re-fuel the vehicle. Not all the cities and towns have the EV electric charging infrastructure. On the go charging requires time and that doesn’t help EV adoption. This is a turn off for the EV market. On top, the planning and implementation of such EV charging network is yet to be defined clearly for the Indian market.
Option: In 2020, Indian automotive manufacturers are not providing more than two or three EV model options. This limits the EV options for the consumer. While commercial vehicles by default are slowly getting more EV models, the major market (~70%) is still in the passenger vehicles which is far behind in terms of EV models. Unless automotive manufactures come up with a wide range of options, consumers will still get attracted to fuel-powered vehicles.
Environment: There is still no clear roadmap in India about how the battery charging infrastructure is going to be. Whether it will be re-charging the EV batteries at the charging stations or the battery swapping is going to be an economically viable option. In both cases, the environmental challenges still exist. Taking fossil fuel out of the vehicles still does not mean that the EV is 100% environment friendly. Disposing of the battery after long usage is still a big concern. On top, the raw materials required to develop batteries are not fully environment friendly.
Infrastructure: EV requires a network of charging stations. The developed market already have policies and partners who have worked on creating a network of infrastructure that allows anyone with an EV model to get their EV charged at an affordable cost. The same infrastructure is now being extended to provide EV servicing, in case of breakdowns. India needs a clear policy and partners to ensure that the infrastructure is in place before ramping up the EV production.
EV FUTURE IN INDIA
The future of EV is promising in India. It does come up with challenges. There are already established EV markets to learn from and take the best possible route possible to increase the wider adoption of passenger and commercial EV.
The commercial EV market is growing mainly due to state government policies. The same needs to be applied to passenger vehicles. Two/three-wheelers have already started adopting to the EV business model. If the cost goes down further with an increase in range, the speed of adoption can be faster.
EV market also provides opportunity to the semiconductor companies which can provide electronic based solution to make EV ecosystem smarter.
The mass mobility transition for 1.3+ Billion people is not an easy task. It is an opportunity for all the manufactures that are driving the EV market around the globe. Will be exciting to see how the world helps India drive into the EV world.
