Developments in EV Sector
3 min read
Electric Vehicles are getting a lot of attraction worldwide and so in India. We saw some great developments in the sector in India in recent times.
Government Contributing: Nitin Gadkari the Union Transport Minister showed his confidence in EV talking about how the GST on EVs is only 5% and how the cost of lithium batteries is also declining. Mentioning the government policy asking the petrol pumps to set up EV charging stations that have already been framed he also talked about the comparative pricing per km:
The cost per km
- Of a Petrol car is Rs. 10
- Of a Diesel, the car is Rs. 7
- While that of an EV is only Re. 1.
The Central Government also launched a web-based portal – E-Amrit a one-stop solution for EVs at the ongoing United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. This portal will give the information relating to EVs be it purchases or investments and will even bust the myths around the adaptation of EVs.
Website – https://e-amrit.niti.gov.in/home
Delhi Government claimed that they will charge only Rs. 2,500 to install the private chargers for light electric vehicles including two and three-wheelers. The same facility can opt by anyone in Delhi by either going to the respective portal or by calling the helpline numbers. This facility is possible with the help of the subsidy of Rs. 6,000 to only the first 30,000 applicants.
Companies Contributing: TATA Power last week confirmed that they have managed to install 1,000+ EV charging stations across the country.
The company plans to set up at least 10,000 charging stations around the country with highways converted to e-highways with charging stations on the stretch. The map on their website allows people to look for the nearby charging stations.
TATA Motors managed to raise a billion-dollar last month for its EV business with a valuation of $9.1 billion. Even Mahindra and Mahindra are planning to explore extensively in the EV sector.
In a recent press conference, Rajesh Jejurikar, executive director of Auto and Farm equipment of M&M, said they will launch 16 EVs by 2027 and expect 20% of its sale from the EVs. Mahindra is committed to investing Rs. 3,000 crores in the EV sector by the end of fiscal 2024 and plans to become India’s biggest electric SUV seller.
The company now plans to focus on its top sellers – XUV, Bolero, Scorpio, and Thar. Other Rivals like TVS and Bajaj are also setting up separate subsidiaries for EVs with fundraising being one of the major focus. Investors all around the world are getting excited about the new market of automobiles especially after a 1600% return from Tesla in just two years.
Conclusion: Though both the government and the companies are trying their best to launch electric vehicles in India, the problems of charging stations and limited choices stand tall. Today the number of EV options in four-wheelers are very limited and the availability of charging station is also scarce. A good shift is visible in two-wheelers where many options have started flooding in the market. It will be interesting to see if India will shift to four-wheelers or will it limit the shift to just two-wheelers.
Will Tata and Mahindra rule the EV market with their early stepping in the sector or will long going top brand Maruti steal the show with sudden launches of affordable EVs?
