Your choice of fuel directly impacts on the future of Automobile! Know how

Drastically changing consumer behavior, along with rapidly emerging technologies has led the global automobile industry to pursue different strategies to keep up. Consumer demand has been changing in several aspects, such as price, design, safety, and fuel. Growing prices of petrol and diesel are a matter of concern for the automotive industry as well as the consumers, worldwide and in India

What is the present scenario?

Demand for two-wheelers and four-wheelers are going up every day. On the other hand, people are walking and cycling more to save on travelling expenses. It should be remembered that automobiles contribute to almost 7% GDP in India. The Government is looking to extend it to 12% by the end of 2026. The market is looking favorable too. Maruti Suzuki had registered a growth of 14.6% in the passenger vehicle category, while Hyundai and Tata Motors had registered almost 25% and 84% growths respectively (all in the month of December 2020).

How is fuel type affecting the automobile industry?

Not only India, but the whole world is looking to shift to an alternative mode of transportation. Electric vehicles or EVs are the future of private and public transportation. NITI Aayog has made an optimistic projection of converting 70% of all commercial vehicles, 40% of buses, 30% of private cars, and 80% of two-wheelers into CNG and EVs. Needless to say, this would require thousands of crores worth of investments in the manufacturing and charging ecosystem.

As per the current scenario, expected penetration in private two-wheelers and four-wheelers is 10%-15% and 20%-30% in public transports by 2030. This estimation is after studying the present infrastructural development and projected investments in manufacturing and marketing of CNG and battery-electric vehicles in India. The Government of India has devised specific strategies in this sector. It includes more investments, lower interest rates against loans for EVs, tax rebates to manufacturers, easy loans to allied industries like battery and electric parts manufacturing industries.

What are the challenges of CNG and electric vehicles?

The road to achieving the above mentioned goals with CNG and electric vehicles aren’t devoid of hurdles. Take a look:

·?????Technology has to be upgraded more to reach out to a wider target audience.

·?????Such cars are tough to drive on hilly roads. They don’t have the capacity to pull the entire vehicle up at higher altitudes and rugged terrain.

·?????Major problem in this sector is the exorbitant prices.

·?????Underdeveloped charging ecosystem is another major concern for EV and CNG vehicle owners.

·?????Supply accessories are inefficient, especially batteries.

·?????Options and features are severely limited.

What does the future look like?

Fuel prices are at an all time high, but despite that the market of petrol and diesel vehicle show optimistic figures. Of course, there are bound to be temporary setbacks from time to time due to oil prices affecting the auto industry. But the trend of increasing demand will continue in the coming days as people have more disposable income now. Even the Government machinery dedicated to this sector is mobilizing more money for easy loans to the customers, tax rebates to manufacturers in different ways, and more emphasis on manufacturing accessories including electrical and electronic parts essential for the automotive industry. The focus should be on the automobile industry growth factors, speedy growth of the CNG and electric vehicles market.

So overall, things look good for petrol and diesel vehicles, while the Government is working hard to integrate EVs, CNG vehicles, and hybrid cars too. The next few years are crucial for the automobile industry, where fuel type will play an integral role.