Auto Industry Is Well Equipped To Face Pandemic Again: Sanjay Behl, Greaves Electric
At the Auto Expo Motor Show 2023, Greaves Electric Mobility unveiled its Made in India range of six electric 2 & 3 wheelers inspired by the Arctic Tern, for last mile passenger and cargo mobility. Since its foray into sustainable mobility, the company has committed a capital investment of Rs. 1500 crore to boost India’s EV ecosystem. On the occasion, our Editorial Lead, Utkarsh Agarwal spoke to Sanjay Behl, CEO & Executive Director of Greaves Electric Mobility to know the mission of these vehicles and the company's plan in the year ahead. Read the excerpt below: -
Q. What's the mission of the vehicles unveiled here at the Auto Expo?
A. The mission of these vehicles is alligned with the mission of the company. The mission of the company Greaves Electric Mobility is to democratise smart and sustainable mobility, both in passenger and cargo segments. And the moment I say, I think there are three key words there: democratise, smart and sustainable. Democratization is a strategic choice that we've taken that will make our vehicles the best performance and value for money and make it accessible for all so they will be affordable, they will be accessible, they will be across customer segments, they will be across segments. The second one is smart; smart would mean most of our vehicles almost every vehicle is going to get connected. And connected would mean data connected, data intelligence, data science has to be extracted out of a vehicle. Because today, it's no more industrial engineering. Our automotive engineering is no more mechanical, it's electronic, I call it mechanical + electronics, so it has to be smart. And sustainable is all green energy, our mission to have clean energy to really go towards the carbon neutral emission, both for India and the planet, and do our bit as a company to heal the planet. So that's our mission and all our vehicles are actually in line with the core purpose of this company.
Q. The purpose of EVs is to be more sustainable and more towards net zero. So, how sustainable do you think electric vehicles are given the fact that they run on batteries?
A. Electric vehicles by the definition of electric vehicles are zero-emission vehicles. So to that extent, a very large part of the value chain is already extremely sustainable and there is absolutely no emission which comes. Now, I understand the natural earth metal and the practices that are getting used. But I think there is enough and more maturity in alternate technologies that is happening for battery cells across the world. For example, we are already in the process of moving away from lithium-ion to lithium Ferro phosphate batteries. All our new products that you see here are all LFP and then there are future technologies that are coming up. So, I think electric mobility will be one of the biggest contributors to a clean energy mission and sustainability.
Q. Many OEMs here have also showcased alternative fuel vehicles. So, what do you think the future lies ahead with - electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles or the Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFVs)?
A. I would say the time will be the judge for that and whichever is the most compelling, most efficient & cost-efficient technology will take over eventually. But like any technology you have seen in telecom, it started by being 2G it was voice-dominant data, not so good. They were GSM and CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) technology, they were fighting as to which is a better technology. But over time, the technologies converge to a certain level of equilibrium, whatever is the best performance and cost efficient into the technology. To me at this point of time, it seems that for the next 18 to 24 months, we will continue to see lithium-based technologies. LFP seems to be the best thing but there is already a lot of investment happening on as you rightly said, mixed fuels, ethanol and petrol mix fuels. Technologies that are coming and I'm sure they will have their light in the day. Also, the hybrid both in terms of smart hybrid and the provisioning of electric and some other alternative fuel counsel there. So, I think that it's good that we are seeing so many competing technologies because all of these eventually will partly consolidate, partly converge and partly there will be the survival of the fittest technology and it will be absolutely a wonderful planet to stay in.
Q. Electric vehicles are highly overpriced. In a few days, the government will be presenting the budget, so, what are your expectations from the government regarding the budget?
A. I would say electric vehicles are very competitively priced. You did say that they are overpriced but with the provision of FAME-II subsidy that has been provided to all electric vehicles today, the entry price becomes extremely affordable and comparable with the alternate IC engine vehicles. And if you see, most of my vehicles, at least greaves electric mobility, are priced at a very affordable bracket between 80k to 100k, the ones which are existing on the road. Once you come into the category, you see the cost of running that vehicle drop down by about 80-90 per cent. And that's where the winning proposition really comes. So, the same entry price, and your running cost over the life of the vehicle is down by 80 per cent. It's a clear winner in terms of the total cost of ownership.
Q. We're standing at the start of the year 2023. So, what are the company's plans for the year ahead?
A. We are planning to continue investing and expand our product portfolio. We have marked a massive investment for R&D and technology work that we want to do. There's also the new brand identity that we have launched and unveiled here at Auto Expo. But this is going to be pan-India executed. One of the execution manifestations is going to be the launch of brand experience stores. So, we will have about 50 brand-experience stores coming over the next 12 months. Capacity expansion is another area where we want to shift from half a million capacity for our electric two-wheelers to about a million by the end of the year. So, if you put everything together, you're looking at 1500 crores of investment coming in developing the electric ecosystem by Greaves.
Q. There is a possibility that we might face the pandemic situation again. So, how prepared do you think are we so not to face a similar situation again in terms of the semiconductor chip shortage and supply chain?
A. India has dramatically improved in its capability to really address, and I think COVID has been a great accelerator to that extent for the supply chain to become self-sustaining to that extent. The second thing I think the boost also came from the FAME-II subsidy where the government actually insisted that more than 50 per cent of value addition that has to be done in making an electric vehicle if you have to be entitled for the subsidy, has to be through the indigenised or local supply chain. And that's really pushed companies like us and the entire industry to really move them. Today, I can say beyond the absolute bare necessity items like a semiconductor chip from Taiwan, or cells from possibly China, rest every other element is coming and is being locally sourced, assembled and engineered. So, I'm very, very confident that God forbid if a sad situation has to happen even for a temporary time. I think we as an industry are reasonably well equipped. There could be some disruptions here or there, but we are radically better positioned today than we were about three or four years back.
