Ever gone for a walk on a road nearby and wished for pure air? Due to the increasing level of vehicular pollution, it is difficult to find air which is free from smog and particulate matters.
The alarming situation of increasing pollution due to cars and bikes run on fossil fuels has led to finding alternative options that are more sustainable. The answer came in the form of electric vehicles.
The segment has emerged significantly over the past years all across the world. The electric vehicle in India is also evolving with time and the country is emphasizing the adoption of electric vehicles.
People nowadays choose to buy electric vehicles due to its endless benefits.
- E-Vehicle is sleeker, safer, comfortable, and more exciting to drive compared to gasoline-powered vehicles. This ultimately boosts the electric vehicles market to touch new heights in the forthcoming years.
- Crowing the features like silent ride, immediate torque, long-lasting, higher efficiency, and excellent performance, electric vehicles have zero fuel consumption and minimum maintenance costs.
Owing to the mentioned reasons and many more, electric vehicles have caught the attention of commuters and car-lovers to go for e-vehicles over traditional vehicles.
Electric Vehicles in India
With the market being so volatile and lacking a sustainable demand, it’s imperative to assess the time when India will switch towards electric cars.
But industry leaders are optimistic and believe that the shift will happen very soon because of the favorable policies, incumbents & startups making rapid and significant advancements towards the EV segment, the user interest, and institutional interest.
In India by 2025, the electric vehicle (EV) market is likely to be a Rs 50,000-crore opportunity, with expecting two- and three-wheelers to drive higher electrification of the vehicles India EV companies.
More Perks For Driving An EV
One of the big reasons for electric vehicles gaining popularity in India is the role of government. The policymakers are taking some concrete actions (like introducing FAME-II scheme) to make the purchase of electric vehicles in India lucrative for consumers.
While the main driving factor is sustainability, another substantial reason for the government is to reduce the dependency on oil imports. For a country that is reliant heavily on crude oil imports for fueling the transport sector, it makes a compelling case to shift towards alternative fuels like ethanol and electricity.
What will you get?
By purchasing an EV, you could be qualified to receive subsidies from the government. Recently in addition to what is covered under the FAME-II scheme, the Delhi government announced a financial incentive up to Rs 1.5 lakh on the purchase of a 4 wheeled electric vehicles.
And you can contribute to the local community by making efforts to reduce air pollution, sound pollution, and much more.
The upcoming models of electric vehicles require low-maintenance, cost-effective, and quieter. With EV charging stations becoming more accessible to the public, the convenience has also increased manifold.
What companies are supporting the growth story?
A lot of this has happened because of the home-grown companies. The automobile sector as a whole is not doing that great, because of a variety of reasons but the electric vehicles in India are seeing some decent action.
“The Indian electric vehicles (EV) industry has registered a 20% surge with sales of 1.56 Lakh units in the financial year 2019–2020, compared to 1.3 Lakh in the previous year.” — inc42
4 Wheelers Companies
- Ola Electric: Ola is India’s only electric vehicle unicorn startup, was launched in 2019. With a mission to figure out with driver-partners, cities, vehicle manufacturers, and battery companies to create sustainable technologies that are cost-effective and viable in daily mobility.
- Tata Electric: Such is the belief in the Indian EV segment, that global behemoth TATA has pulled in Tata Motors, Tata Consulting Services (TCS), Tata Chemicals, Tata Power and Tata Croma to pool resources and expertise in order to build an electric vehicle ecosystem. Tata power will help in developing the charging stations, IT giant TCS will help in creating the digital infrastructure (like mobile apps, payments), while the retail division Croma will offer test drives and TATA Chemicals will augment the battery manufacturing.
- Mahindra Electric: Anand Mahindra owned company has been manufacturing EV cars since its acquisition of REVA in 2010.
2 Wheelers Companies
- Hero Electric: In the year 1956, the foundation of brand Hero was a vision to provide mobility to millions of people in India. The company launched its first electric scooter in 2007 and today it is India’s largest EV two-wheeler manufacturer. Over the years, Hero Electric focussed on building a dealer network and creating an electric charging point infrastructure.
- Okinawa: Okinawa Autotech Pvt. Ltd. was established in the year 2015. It is a 100% electric two-wheeler manufacturing company In India.
- Ather: Ather Energy was founded in 2013 by Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain. It manufactures scooter Ather 450 and also the Ather 450X. The Ather 450 is loaded with features like a touch screen instrument cluster which makes it exciting for two-wheel drivers.
Bikes/Cycles
- BattRE: BattRE was founded in 2017 by Nishchal Chaudhary, a former Airtel executive. The startup aims to provide innovative solutions to tackle problems with carbon footprints, noise pollution, and traffic through e-bicycles.
Electric Vehicles in India are getting power boosters
Removing Batteries from Equation: Batteries constitutes approximately a quarter of the EV cost, which made initial investment very costly. Recently (Aug 12th, 2020), the government of India has allowed registration of Electric vehicles without batteries, which makes buying the vehicle much cheaper initially.
Emerging Business Models: Owning an electric vehicle has become a lot simpler due to leasing/subscription and online business models. First-time buyers don’t have to pay the huge upfront cost and can make assessments using digital mediums.
Smart and Intelligent vehicles: Digital is not a buzz word anymore, many companies in the EV segment have launched vehicles that are connected to the internet. The digital layer adds benefits to the buyers as well as the manufacturers.
- The companies will know about any damage, conditions of spare parts, and driving behavior of the users.
- Knowing the service time, nearest charging or battery swapping station, geo-tagging the vehicles — help the consumers — mainly millennials and Gen Z to have better control over their toy.
From affordable to Premium: The companies are offering vehicles that cater to a range of consumer segments.
Local Battery Manufacturing: In order to reduce the reliance on battery imports, huge investments are being made to encourage local manufacturing for batteries. This will further reduce the cost of Electric vehicles in India.
Final Words
Since this automobile runs on an electric engine as opposing to a petrol one, the best thing about it is that it is 100 percent emission-free. Electric vehicles also minimize noise pollution. Air pollution brings numerous health consequences to people. By opting for Electric vehicles, you are moving towards a technology which will make this planet a safer place to live!
We have already written of how post-COVID, the dynamics of urban transport would change and electric vehicles would be an important cog in that wheel.
If you truly desire to be part of the green society and are good about every aspect of your life existence, regard the advantages of the electric vehicle.
Originally published at https://changestarted.com on August 23, 2020.
