The EV industry in India is emerging on on account of various factors such as the growing awareness toward the environment, increasing petrol prices, and stringent emission norms, etc. The direction of EV industry development is to upgrade the E-mobility spec to meet the requirement of current mobility.
The government of various states have already sped up EV adoption, and that is going to further pave the way for acceptance of EV in India in all categories 2Ws, 3Ws, 4Ws, e-bikes and e-buses, etc.
The key triggers for wide adoption of EVs are multi-level policy support by the Centre and various state governments, rising awareness about environmental concerns among the general public, and the general demand for more energy efficient ways to commute, for a country of 1.3 billion people. The massive market potential for EVs has encouraged many homegrown companies to scale up their R&D and EV manufacturing capacity. The design, efficiency, and other innovation in the EV space have also helped create a positive bias among consumers. According to a recent report, by 2022, most consumers in India would consider buying an electric vehicle.
Jeetender Sharma, MD & founder, Okinawa, says, “The size of opportunity in the EV space is so huge that every player can play a meaningful role in India’s transition from IC engines to EVs and shape a greener future. Having said this, I believe that being an EV startup has its own competitive edge. It allows you to write on a blank slate. For example, an EV startup does not have to tweak the existing assembly line or supply chains to retro-suit it to the new product manufacturing. It can instead look for more efficient ways to manufacture new age products compared to traditional ways of doing things. Another important thing is that all the established automobile players have a huge investment locked into their recent transition to the BS 6 platform. Thus, it is hard for them to make any large-scale pivot to EVs.”
Okinawa has about 36% market share in the EV two-wheeler space. Currently, about 92% components in its EVs are made in India. This helps them have a good control on the product quality, as well as key financial metrics.
Akihiro Ueda, CEO and president of Terra Motors, believes that startups should think more on the lines of innovation when it comes to EV. “It can be from innovation in improvising the existing bill of materials for manufacturing EVs in India to finding solutions for batteries and ROI on the vehicle. Tech innovations in the form of energy consumption indicator apps, charging station locators, or identifying areas for future stations to come can add tremendous support to the EV value chain. Simple EV manufacturing business is getting tough to survive in the competitive market, innovation would be the key.”
Battery power
Clearly a huge market awaits EV manufacturers if they fundamentally believe that EV is going to replace internal combustion vehicles in India. Narayan Subramaniam, Founder and CEO, Ultraviolette Automotive, “The factors of eco-friendly, efficient and smart technology is going to play a huge role in changing the mindset of the Indian consumer. The rising fuel prices, insurance and service costs for IC engines are playing a huge role in this change.”
There are a number of reasons to buy an EV. Quiet engines and smooth rides, they actually have a higher torque than most people expect, too, because the power is sent straight to the wheels. No need to visit a gas station, either, and while drivers do have to pay for the electricity used in charging the car, it’s less than gas prices.
Trilok Nath Mittal, founder, TNR, says, “In India a major breakthrough for the EV segment was the unveiling of National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020 in 2013 to address the issues of national energy security, vehicular pollution and growth of domestic manufacturing capabilities. Reiterating its commitment to the Paris Agreement, the government of India had plans to make a major shift to electric vehicles by 2030. This has led to a boost in the EV segment throughout the country and with the policies the Central Govt. is coming up would result gaining more benefits to EV manufacturers and users as well.”
He believes that even if start-ups were to give their best technology in scooties, they’ll not be able to match what bigger brands are offering. “Maybe if certain opportunities could be created where brands would approach startups as investors, or share technical advancements with them only then the industry will grow. And when it comes to competition between startups & established players, there is no possibilities of this.”
TNR uses high quality international parts, safety standards and technology in its electric vehicle. Therefore, the customer can get a complete package which includes technology, class, comfort, style, sportiness, safety and affordability.
Electric vehicles will surely develop a perception change towards the automotive needs of society. Harsh Vardhan Didwania, co-founder & director, EeVe India, says, “We are building smart electric scooters, which are efficient and have IoT-enabled features. Bringing in solutions to the problems like quality, durability, and affordability faced by customers (while choosing an electric vehicle) has given us the platform to make vehicles that will stand out in the market. Very soon they will be powered with AI technology. Above all, Eeve India is the only player in the market giving 5 years warranty on its vehicles.”
When a start-up like EeVe ably supported by the enterprise Bharat Group, can go faster with energy, passion, and the entrepreneurship, a start-up brings to the equation. With a concept, innovation & design EeVe has been able to match up to the expectations of its customers and this defines our presence in the market.
The Indian customer is now more open than ever when it comes to buying an electric scooter as there is more faith in the sector. Nishchal Chaudhary, founder, BattRE Electric Mobility, says, “The BattRE IoT is our most innovative product. It is an internet connected smart E-Scooter which is connected to the user’s mobile via Bluetooth that has an app-based user interface. Some of the unique features and specifications of BattRE IOT include navigation assist, ride metrics, anti-theft alarm and lock, remote diagnostics, SOS alerts, voice-enabled app, speedometer and on-call alerts, riding behaviour-based suggestions as well as online service requisitions and digital records. This makes navigation easy and enables a rider to make most out of the experience.”
The company is on course to launch its first electric motorbike by autumn. There are plans to launch an electric scooter in the same high-speed segment as well. A new factory is also in the works just besides the current one which would double production capacity. In terms of scaling up, we have grown to a healthy 130+ dealers and have an aim to cross 250 dealers by the end of the next financial year. With a new factory in the works, it’s also looking at doubling production capacity to meet the requirements of ever-increasing dealer network.
Another advantage of switching to an electric vehicle is the cost of charging a vehicle versus using fossil fuels. The running cost of EVs comes to Rs 1 per km, Rs 9 for petrol, Rs 6 for diesel and about Rs 2.5 per km on CNG. If India successfully manages to achieve this target by 2030, it can save about 1 giga tonne of emissions. Rushi Shenghani, founder and CEO, Earth Energy EV, says, “Our biggest achievement was to deliver the first electric Cruiser Motorcycle- Evolve- Z in India that is suited for both daily urban commutes and laid back weekend trips. The SMART IN TRUE SENSE technology makes Earth Energy range a high-end E-vehicle at this lucrative price which is first for this segment.”
The Indian EV market is highly fragmented and has countless local players active in the market owing to high market growth and cheap and readily available manpower. Although established players in the market are introducing their new model’s, new startups have taken the lead in this market. The startups are expanding their presence by raising funds from investors, tapping in new and unexplored cities with rapid development of technology and engineering.
The Tesla Roadster became available in 2008, which was followed fairly quickly by the Mitsubishi i-MiEV in Japan. The development and release of these two vehicles, but especially of the Tesla, marked the beginning of the modern EV period globally.