The rapid adoption of electric vehicles across sectors will drastically transform India's transportation sector. Here's a rundown of the sector's challenges and opportunities.
As a country, we’re on the cusp of a seismic disruption in the mobility sector. Indeed, the building blocks of a transition to electric vehicles are already in place; the firm intent being on reducing our heavy reliance on importing precious crude oil and significantly reducing our booming carbon footprint.
And as with any good plan, identifying the end goal is of utmost importance, and the Government of India’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2070 is laudable. The first big landmark will be the year 2030, by which time India will get its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 gigawatts, which will reduce its total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes, and, most importantly, will be well on its way to achieving the target of reducing the carbon intensity of its economy by up to 35%.
It’s hardly surprising that the transport sector in India accounts for a fair chunk of the total energy consumption and a decent portion of our emissions, and hence the dependence on importing crude oil for much longer is not only detrimental to the economy, but overall, it’s just not viable for the long term. The solution, then, is an alternative that not only alleviates the strain on our economy but one that furthers the end goal of a net-zero emissions economy by 2070. The biggest bet today, then, is the transition and, more importantly, the mass adoption of electric mobility.
There needs to be a firm handshake that exists between EV adoption on one side, and affordable technology and supporting infrastructure on the other, in order for the masses to adopt cleaner mobility. As it stands, EV adoption, on the whole, is in its nascence in India, accounting for less than 1 percent of the overall vehicle sales. However, the government accepts and recognizes it as a way forward, and has outlined a 30% EV penetration, once again by 2030.
Of course, there are speed bumps to navigate to the 2030 target, and they’re fairly significant, without which the goal wouldn’t be deemed ambitious. Take, for instance, the fact of the matter that a big concern early adopters have, and rightly so, is that of ‘range anxiety.’ Electric vehicles typically don’t have the same traveling range as their combustion engine counterparts. This is, of course, a relatively ‘current’ concern, because as our understanding of battery tech advances, which it no doubt will, the average range associated with a fully-charged battery will soon rival, and eventually better, that which you can manage from a combustion engine.
Alluded to this is the charging infrastructure currently present for EVs across India. Unlike fuel pumps that are littered across most of the country, spotting a functioning, convenient and user-friendly charging station for electric vehicles is a challenge.
In order to truly turn the Indian economy into one that has a thriving electric vehicle presence, the development of charging infrastructure needs to be accelerated, and with it, the average time spent charging a vehicle needs to come down as well.
There are positive signs visible in this regard, too, and with more manufacturers jumping on board to facilitate this goal, it won’t be long before this challenge, too, will be a thing of the past.
Perhaps the biggest challenge facing us on the path to mass adoption is the high entry barrier for electric vehicles in terms of cost. EVs, today, aren’t as affordable as their combustion-engined counterparts. And while the government’s Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid & Electric Vehicles (FAME) policy is a big step in the right direction, it still mandates that at least 50% of the components of an electric vehicle need to be sourced locally in order for it to qualify for subsidies. As adoption rates pick up, and local manufacturing also speeds up, prices will, of course, automatically be subsidized, even with the government incentives in place.
It’s crucial to remember that this is not the work of one night. Especially not when you consider the enormity of the population of India. For our goals to come to fruition, a lot of seemingly tiny cogs need to come together, step by step, to set the giant ‘green’ wheel, as it were, in motion. Seen as a big picture, we’re well on our way to just that.
Despite the challenges, what’s undeniable is the opportunity for growth in this space currently. We are at a critical point in this exciting journey towards electric mobility and the subsequent march towards a greener world. The pandemic undoubtedly scuppered progress towards this goal, but once it subsides completely, we will be well on our way to embarking on the next phase of mobility, one of achieving net-zero emissions status and without the anchor of dependence on crude oil. The future looks, and is, bright.
Contributed by
Naveen Munjal, MD, Hero Electric
