Is The Indian Auto Industry Ready For Green Fuel Revolution?

India has been working towards achieving a sustainable future, and the automobile industry is now at a critical crossroads. As technology continues to advance rapidly, it's important to ask ourselves whether India is ready for a sustainable future. Do we have enough policies and infrastructure in place to support these advancements? 

While discussing whether the Indian auto industry is prepared to adopt new technologies, Nirmal NR, Chief Executive Officer of Greaves Electric's 3-wheeler business, shared his thoughts. 

"Although policies are changing, the automobile industry is not new. Some companies have dominated this industry for a long time. However, democratisation is now happening, which presents a huge opportunity for startups to challenge the current status quo."

"There used to be a barrier of entry but with the new technologies, this barrier is lowering, and many of these old companies may not survive, " he added.

Meanwhile, Tanuj Jain, Cofounder and Director of ElectroRide added to the same discussion that there are several challenges in the auto industry as of now. "We expect the government to have a standardised ecosystem for charging when it comes to Electric Vehicles."

Furthermore, discussing the passenger vehicle being at a pivotal juncture, H.S Bhatia, the Managing Director of Kelwon Electronics and Appliances, said "From an investment point of view, manufacturing two-wheeler EVs is much easier, but we have not seen much demand for other commercial vehicle parts, entry barrier being the major reason. Thereby, relying on the bigger names."

"As a company that manufactures and sells two-wheelers, I think two-wheelers have reached a place of being a no-brainer, with a plethora of products available in the market," added Nikhil Bhatia, Co-founder & Chief Operating Officer of HOP Electric Mobility.

Exploring how the government is taking enough initiatives to support original equipment manufacturers (OEM) for manufacturing Electric Vehicles, Anil Srivastava, Professor of Practice, IIT Kanpur and Former Principal Advisor & Director General, Niti Aayog, who was amongst the panelists at the BW Auto World 40 Under 40 Awards stated how the narrative from NITI Ayog is unfolding now. "The government needs to address standardisation issues to accelerate adoption of Electric Vehicles. There are over 25 policies in place, but more work is needed to resolve charging issues." 

Discussing how the batteries can be made more affordable in India, Nikhil said, "Domestic sales is still 2-3 years away, price parity with the imported batteries can impose a problem. Subsidies given by the government have to be consistent, keeping in mind the 5-year horizon."

While speaking of making electric vehicles more affordable, Srivastava said, "The gap between the ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) Vehicles and EVs (Electric Vehicles) can never be bridged, as the components used in EVs are more expensive than ICEVs."