EV Industry Players Lauds Govt’s Unwavering Support For Clean Mobility

Avishek Banerjee Jun 23, 2020

As India limps back to normalcy, there is perhaps an innate desire in most of us to somehow sustain this dramatically improved air quality and the pristine environment that we have got so used to during the lockdown. Furthermore, with petroleum fuel being available in limited quantity, the world has to look for alternate and cheap sources of power and electric and bio fuels stand a good chance for adoption. And now with the government reiterating its commitment to make India a global hub for EVs, a lot of zero emission vehicle manufacturers and its allied partners have exuded confidence in playing a prominent role in supporting that mission.

It may be recalled that Union Minister for Road Transport& Highways and MSMEs Shri Nitin Gadkari has expressed confidence that in the next five years, India will become a manufacturing hub for electric vehicles. He said, the Government is trying to extend best possible concessions to this sector, and has lowered the GST on electrical vehicles from 18% to 12%. Gadkari expressed full confidence in the capabilities of the auto sector, and said, with consistency and self confidence in this economic crisis, it can gather good market opportunities. He also called upon the industry to go in for indigenisation and support Prime Minister's ‘AtmNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.’

As Sohinder Gill, CEO, Hero Electric and DG SMEV puts it, “The EV industry is at a formative stage and can create a strong "make in India" base with the support of the policy and the right eco system. The government and the Industry must quickly reach a consensus with "oneness of purpose" on how to strategically and tactically handle this transformation from the fossil fuel vehicles to the electric vehicles. Some of the actions that can be initiated for EV adoption could be easy financing through banks, awareness through Swachh Bharat campaign, front loading the customer incentives, supporting the supply chain setups and creating an exports base.”

Addressing a webinar on ‘India's Electric Vehicle Roadmap post-COVID-19’, the Minister said, he was aware of the issues facing the EV sector, but was also sure of the things to change as the sales volumes increase. The Minister recalled the London model of public transport, where private and public investment is working well. He said, adopting similar approach will be beneficial for both the poor commuters and the civic administration. He indicated towards working on a pilot project for developing an electric highway on the upcoming Delhi-Mumbai Green Corridor.

Mahesh Babu, CEO, Mahindra Electric maintained, “With investments in EV for more than a decade, we have the most local content in our products. Our endeavour is to bring in value add in EV supply chain to India, not only for our needs, but also to other parts of world. Our technologies of EV power train systems are being exported to countries across world. Mahindra Treo from April 2020 has all the vehicle content made in India except the cell. “

The EV industry has been witnessing a great interest from the private sector over the last two years with many new players like Revolt, etc, making a foray. In the light of government's support under FAME2 scheme, several OEMs have crafted their product electrification roadmaps, funds are in active discussions with many start-ups and large fleet operators are also keen to induct EVs in their fleets with a vision of 100% EV fleet and several government EV tenders have also been floated. However, due to the pandemic, some of these activities have hit a pause button.

Chetan Maini, Co-founder and Vice-Chairman of SUN Mobility, “Post-COVID era opens up a lot of opportunities in developing an indigenous EV supply chain and capturing the large first/last mile connectivity (both passenger and goods) market using small, locally produced EVs. The development of this market can help uplifting bottom-of-the-pyramid segment (drivers, delivery boys) and the MSME sector (startups, auto components players). “However, he maintained, “The government can really accelerate this shift by being a catalyst through some key policy measures such as - reducing GST on EV batteries and EV charging/battery swapping services to 5% (currently 18%).”

Will the upward thrust from the govt be good enough to push sales? Gill from SMEV maintains, “Customers do indeed have a role to play in this transformation by preferring cleaner mobility transportation and supporting "Made in India" electric vehicles. I strongly believe we, as a nation, can get our act together and catch up on the lost time to convert the current crisis into an opportunity that can generate employment for millions, make our cities less polluting, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and put our nation on the global EV map. “