By Manali Joshi
The government is aspiring for a nation with 100 percent electric vehicles (EVs) by 2030. It is formulating a policy to control pollution while saving foreign exchange. It has sought comments and suggestions from all stakeholders such as ministries of oil & gas, transport, heavy industry, power and others in formulating the policies. It is also planning to set up a committee for developing an institutional framework for the same.
Electric vehicles: Future of India’s transportation system
The development comes against the backdrop of India’s National Electric Mobility Mission Plan, which aims to put 6 million electric vehicles on the roads by 2020. The central government has said that all vehicles produced in the country after 2030 have to be electric. The FAME India scheme of 2015 offers incentives on electric and hybrid vehicles up to Rs 29,000 for bikes and Rs 1.38 lakh for cars. The government has been setting aside money to subsidise EV purchases on an annual basis. For the year 2017-18, Rs 175 crore has been allotted.
As per a report released by NitiAayog earlier this month, the accelerated adoption of electric and shared vehicles could save about $60 billion in diesel and petrol costs while cutting down as much as 1 gigatonne (Gt) of carbon emissions for India by 2030. This would result in an annual diesel and petrol reduction of 156 million tonnes of oil equivalent, resulting in a net saving of approximately Rs 3.9 lakh crore in fuel cost.
After a century of spectacular growth powered by the internal combustion engine, the automobile industry is taking a serious look at moving away from fossil fuels, with cars, bikes and commercial vehicles powered by electricity.
Possible challenges for India
The biggest challenge for India to achieve such a goal will be to put up charging infrastructure across the country. As said by Tushar Bansal, director at energy consultant Ivy Global Energy Pte., the government would need to build more charging points and lower the cost of electric vehicles if it wants to achieve its goal.
The second challenge will be the affordability of e-vehicles (EVs) and the range they can cover on a single battery charge. Thus, both affordability and the coverage promised by the e-vehicles should be either at par or the latter should be more effective and efficient for the cost incurred by an individual.
India does not have enough lithium reserves for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries. Hence one of the major challenges for the government is to find the natural resources such as lithium, cobalt and nickel to make millions of batteries.
Step by step
The tasks under this plan majorly involve a series of steps. Firstly, making electric two-wheelers and public transport buses attractive through tax incentives is feasible, since these can be charged easily and used for short trips within cities. Secondly, developing a network of charging stations for the smooth operation of electric vehicles.
The government has also recognized places where vehicles can be charged unhindered for a long duration. For instance, workplaces in tech parks, public bus depots, and multiplexes. Some malls in Bengaluru have charging points in parking lots as well. However, technologically advanced recharging points are needed for high-speed charging.
Indian automobile companies must be encouraged to manufacture e-vehicles on a large scale to help India become an electric vehicle nation by 2032. Acquiring lithium fields in Bolivia, Australia, and Chile should be on top of the next agenda as India needs raw material to make batteries for electric vehicles.
Globally the concept of Mobility on Demand is becoming popular in smart cities where a fleet of lightweight electric vehicles is placed at charging stations throughout the city which can be used by commuters. The government of India can incorporate this concept under smart city planning. Lastly, the government must lay down proper safety standards and procedures for charging and handling the battery.
Synergy with the government planning
The vehicle manufacturers are a little sceptical about the 2030 deadline due to lack of existing infrastructure in the country. However, many of them have begun the groundwork.
Japanese car makers Toyota and rival Suzuki on Friday announced their plans to launch their first electric car together by 2020. Another Japanese company, Nissan, is said to be planning a trial in India for its EV car, Leaf, which it expects to commercially launch by 2020. On the other hand, luxury carmakers including Audi, Mercedes, BMW, JLR are also working on bringing the electric vehicles in the Indian market by 2020.
Featured Image Source: Sachitha Obeysekara on Visualhunt / CC BY