Future of Electrical Vehicle in India

INTRODUCTION

Currently, India emits around 3.5 billion tons of carbon every year. But in the 26th Conference of Parties (CoP26), the Indian government has set a target to reduce carbon emission by 1 billion tons by 2030. Carbon intensity will reduce to less than 45% by 2030 and targets to achieve net-zero by 2070. And the adoption of electric mobility is a way forward on which India is working lately. Because EV substantially can cut the fossil fuel-run vehicular mobility, which will help India to reach closer to its sustainable green planet goals.

Electric Vehicle v/s ICE Vehicles:

The main argument behind switching over EV mobility is that fossil fuel vehicles contribute 29% of CO2 and 60% of Particular Matter (PM) - air pollution particles. And on the other hand, electric vehicles are smoke-free and doesn’t emit hydrocarbon pollution - UNICEF termed it “Danger in air”.

Vehicles running on petrol and diesel fuels are greatly inefficient. As the fuel is non-renewable which can neither be recycled, recovered or reused. And 70% of this precious fuel simply gets wasted. On the other hand, EVs runs on batteries that can be recharged anytime- a zero wastage of energy. And have no harmful effects on ecology and human health.

India’s Vision:

India aims to be a 100% electric vehicle nation by 2030. USD 5 billion was the value of the Indian Electrical Vehicle Market in 2020. But it is expected to reach USD 47 billion by 2026. And according to Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister of Road, Transport and Highway, India will be a manufacturing hub of electric vehicles for the global market by 2025.

The adoption of EVs in India is expected to yield manifold benefits. First, it will reduce the pollution level. Second, it will reduce India’s dependency on fossil fuels and oil imports and third it will generate new employment opportunities for Indian youth in the EV field.

Challenges:?India aims to be a superpower in Electric Mobility by 2025 but currently, EVs shares only a 1% share of the total vehicle sales in India. The country is still highly dependent on fuel-based automobiles even after facing massive fuel price hikes. Reasons are: ** Poor Infrastructure: **The first roadblock for EVs is India’s poor roads and few EV charging infrastructure. Only 927 electric vehicle charging stations are present across the country. And only 5% of them are fast-charging stations.

Consumer hesitancy:?There is a lack of awareness about EV products among the population. People still doubt its efficiency against fuel cars or two-wheelers. Also, the price rates intimidate the consumer as they cost twice the price of conventional vehicles. However, it saves fuel expenses which is a high-cost daily expenditure.

Lack of human resources: Since EV is at its early stage in the Indian market, the manufacturer face difficulty in finding skilled workers or experts from the Electric Vehicle industry. It is one of the main concerns for foreign investors, who wish to regulate the country's human resources.

Import of raw material: EV use Lithium batteries to function, which are imported by India. Because India does not have Lithium resources. This has impacted many investors to rethink before investing in the country. It is the need of the hour to be self-sufficient with EV raw materials.

Positive outlook:

Despite all challenges, India is showing a positive growth rate in e-mobility.

EV sales in India increased threefold in the first half of the fiscal year 2022. Around 1.8Lakh units were sold in this period. During the pandemic, the sales of conventional vehicles saw a decline, whereas the passenger EV saw robust growth of about 110%. It is estimated that EV sales will increase by 23 per cent in FY 2021-23. For instance, Tata Motors recently sold 10,000 electric vehicles in India. And with the improving infrastructure, the sales will increase in all other companies. To lead success in this sector, the government has to take some steps in terms of favourable policies that can ease EV business in India

Initiatives to promote EV:

The Indian government is extending all its support to the EV industry: Setting up of EV charging stations at 68,000 petrol pumps across the country. A plan to build the 1st electric highway, a part of the Delhi-Mumbai green corridor. Under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of EV (FAME) Scheme, subsidies are provided on EV purchases. Reducing the total cost of the vehicle to make the EVs affordable. The GST is reduced from 12% to 5%. An income tax rebate of Rs1,50,000. Etc.

The state government

‘Switch Delhi’ Campaign by the Delhi government to encourage the adoption of EVs. It is an awareness drive to promote the benefits of EVs. Delhi Electrical Policy encourages Private charging points (PCPs) setup plans at residential or non-residential premises. Maharashtra Government MoU with Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) to have at least 1 lakh battery-operated vehicles on state roads by 2025. Similarly, various other states are coming up with their own EV policies to promote the sector among their state people.

Other than the government initiative, there are some E-commerce businesses that are taking the initiative to use e-Mobility for last-mile deliveries to control the carbon footprints.

Some innovative startups are also making their way into the EV sector which is encouraging the EV ecosystem to flourish. One of the startups is Nanospan Technology, which produces dry Lithium batteries for E-mobility that performs better in Indian urban city traffic conditions.

Overall, the Indian EV market shows a positive image even after having a couple of hurdles in the pathway. The continued government and private companies efforts for the E-mobility sector will soon help India to achieve its goal.

With the growth of the EV sector, the possibility of new employment generation is also being looked forward to. There is a large demand for skillful employees in EV sectors. If you are also struggling in getting skilled labor for your EV fleet business, use ShramIN. The most trusted and free site for employers to hire skilled ITI candidates, semi-skilled laborers or blue-collar workers.

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