2030 goals: E-mobility requires a step change for India to emerge as promising market

BENGALURU: India is at the cusp of a major e-mobility revolution, with all eyes on the goal to achieve 30 per cent electric vehicle (EV) penetration by 2030. However, on this journey, experts say certain critical imperatives are to be considered which will power India to emerge as a promising EV market.

Addressing a conclave on ‘Mobility of future: India’s transition to clean mobility’ at the Global Investors Meet 2022, Sachin Nijhawan, Chief Commercial Officer, of Switch Mobility, said, “The transport sector contributes around 6.3 per cent of India’s GDP. With the economy growing at a rapid pace, transportation growth is inevitable. But here come some challenges.

We have some of the most polluted cities, which unleash massive CO2 emissions, affecting sustainability. Ninety per cent of these emissions are from the transport sector. However, we strongly believe that if we shift towards clean mobility, we can save about 1.7 GW of cumulative CO2 that is emitted.”

‘India to be $12-14 bn EV market by 2025’

India’s EV sector holds an advantageous position, sailing on growing transport demand. The industry is poised to achieve a value of $12-14 billion by 2025, and the government is offering subsidies and tax benefits to support adoption, both on the demand and supply sides. However, most of the country’s vehicle demand is for internal combustion products.

“Around 85 per cent of our energy is dependent on oil imports. We will be consuming around 7 million barrels of oil in 2030 per day. With suitable EV penetration, oil import bills may come down by roughly 15 per cent, translating to at least Rs 1 lakh crore in savings. If we achieve our goal of 30 per cent EV penetration by 2030, we can reduce particulate matter and CO2 emissions by 18 per cent and greenhouse gases by 4 per cent,” Nijhawan added.

Expressing that EV technology has to be encouraged across the transport sector, Sun Mobility Co-founder and Chairman Chetan Maini said, “The impact we need to make is a step change, and not an incremental one. The policies that we have today are mostly geared towards two-wheelers, three-wheelers and buses, but probably we could add trucks to that as well. While hybrids were a step in the evolution of alternate fuel-run vehicles, it makes more sense now to place investments directly into electric vehicles, since the technology is mature.”

Likewise, the experts say the technology surrounding charging infrastructure should be agnostic, the policies looking at all existing business models, be it mobility as a service, battery as a service, battery-leasing, and solutions supporting slow-charge, fast-charge or battery-swapping. Besides, ways must be found to rationalise them into one element across platforms.

CABINET TO BRING IN SPECIAL INVESTMENT REGION BILL
The state cabinet on Thursday decided to bring in the Special Investment Region Act which will ensure that the work for investors and industrialists is carried out at greater speed. The Bill will allow the government to create a special authority that acts as a single-window clearance system, which already exists in Gujarat. 

BENGALURU: India is at the cusp of a major e-mobility revolution, with all eyes on the goal to achieve 30 per cent electric vehicle (EV) penetration by 2030. However, on this journey, experts say certain critical imperatives are to be considered which will power India to emerge as a promising EV market. Addressing a conclave on ‘Mobility of future: India’s transition to clean mobility’ at the Global Investors Meet 2022, Sachin Nijhawan, Chief Commercial Officer, of Switch Mobility, said, “The transport sector contributes around 6.3 per cent of India’s GDP. With the economy growing at a rapid pace, transportation growth is inevitable. But here come some challenges. We have some of the most polluted cities, which unleash massive CO2 emissions, affecting sustainability. Ninety per cent of these emissions are from the transport sector. However, we strongly believe that if we shift towards clean mobility, we can save about 1.7 GW of cumulative CO2 that is emitted.” ‘India to be $12-14 bn EV market by 2025’ India’s EV sector holds an advantageous position, sailing on growing transport demand. The industry is poised to achieve a value of $12-14 billion by 2025, and the government is offering subsidies and tax benefits to support adoption, both on the demand and supply sides. However, most of the country’s vehicle demand is for internal combustion products. “Around 85 per cent of our energy is dependent on oil imports. We will be consuming around 7 million barrels of oil in 2030 per day. With suitable EV penetration, oil import bills may come down by roughly 15 per cent, translating to at least Rs 1 lakh crore in savings. If we achieve our goal of 30 per cent EV penetration by 2030, we can reduce particulate matter and CO2 emissions by 18 per cent and greenhouse gases by 4 per cent,” Nijhawan added. Expressing that EV technology has to be encouraged across the transport sector, Sun Mobility Co-founder and Chairman Chetan Maini said, “The impact we need to make is a step change, and not an incremental one. The policies that we have today are mostly geared towards two-wheelers, three-wheelers and buses, but probably we could add trucks to that as well. While hybrids were a step in the evolution of alternate fuel-run vehicles, it makes more sense now to place investments directly into electric vehicles, since the technology is mature.” Likewise, the experts say the technology surrounding charging infrastructure should be agnostic, the policies looking at all existing business models, be it mobility as a service, battery as a service, battery-leasing, and solutions supporting slow-charge, fast-charge or battery-swapping. Besides, ways must be found to rationalise them into one element across platforms. CABINET TO BRING IN SPECIAL INVESTMENT REGION BILL The state cabinet on Thursday decided to bring in the Special Investment Region Act which will ensure that the work for investors and industrialists is carried out at greater speed. The Bill will allow the government to create a special authority that acts as a single-window clearance system, which already exists in Gujarat.