The world is moving on to Electric Vehicles and in a couple of decades, electric vehicles will be more common than conventional vehicles. Most automotive manufacturers are now focusing their resources and research towards EVs. However, where does India stand in the global market for EVs?
ELECTRIC VEHICLE MARKET IN INDIA
According to a recent report by the World Health Organisation (WHO), 14 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in India. Emissions produced from vehicles contributes majorly to the pollution levels in India. The government of India had planned to convert its entire fleet of vehicles to fully electric by 2030. The plan was scrapped in January 2018. Had that plan not been scrapped, India could have been one of the largest markets for electric vehicles, possibly only coming second to China.
National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP)
The National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) was launched in 2013 by then prime minister Manmohan Singh. The government had decided to promote only electric vehicles to reduce pollution levels. It had also planned to shift all public transport and 30% of private vehicles to electric by 2030. Later, it shelved its plan to form an Indian EV policy and decided to promote zero-emission technologies.
Electric Vehicles:
One of the major reasons for the failure of Electric Vehicles in India is the cost of the cars. EVs are priced too high for an average Indian Consumer. Internationally, it is acceptable to spend upwards of $30,000 on a new car whereas in India, average cars cost less than $10,000. Therefore, Indians will be looking to buy EVs when the price of EVs falls into an affordable price range.
Electric Cars available in India:
- Mahindra e2oPlus
- Mahindra e-Verito
- Tata Tigor Electric
- Mahindra e-KUV 100
- Tata Tiago Electric
Electric Bikes:
India is the world’s third-largest market for automobiles. Majority of those (upto 80%) are two-wheelers, which is more than any other country.
A report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) says that India will have better progress on electric two-wheelers. According to the BNEF study, the annual sales of EVs will reach 30,000 units in 2022 as opposed to 2,000 units in 2017. And if the sale of EVs grows as predicted, they will constitute about 6.6 per cent of annual vehicle sales by 2030 and go up to 27 per cent by 2040.
EV Market in India for bikes:
The EV market in India was about 25,000 units at the end of 2017. Nearly 92% were two-wheelers, while electric cars accounted for less than 8% of total sales, according to Society of Manufacturers of the Electric Vehicles. India, however, sold a staggeringly little amount of EVs. Less than a million so far. More than 93% were electric three-wheelers and 6% two-wheelers. The two-wheelers are expected to lead the electric vehicle market in India instead of cars or buses.
One of the biggest reasons of failure of electric vehicles in India is the lack of charging stations for public use. Electric Cars run only as far as their battery is charged. The charge time is awfully long and there are a very limited number of charging stations available throughout the country.
Some of the Electric Scooters available in India:
- Heroelectric (Hero Motocorp)
- GreendzineTech
- Ampere vehicles
- Ather Energy Pvt Ltd (to be launched)
- CEEON INDIA
- Twenty Two Motors (kymco)
- AVERA New and Renewable Energy Moto Corp Tech Pvt Ltd
Some of the Electric Bikes available in India:
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- SVM Bikes by Srivaru Motors Pvt Ltd
- Tunwal Electric Bike Pvt Ltd.
- Earth Energy EV
- Tork Motors
