Globally, electric mobility is all set to transform the transportation industry like never before. Keeping pace with the changing global trends, India is gearing up to welcome more and more electric vehicles (EVs).
Of late, to escalate the adoption of EVs in the country, NITI Aayog, the government think-tank proposed that after March 31, 2023, only electric 3-wheelers would be sold and, after March 31, 2025, all new sales of 2-wheelers below 150 CC would be electric (with lithium ion or other advanced battery chemistry only). Further, to encourage EV purchases, the Road Ministry announced exemption of road tax for all EV registrations.
Meanwhile, the FAME II (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles) scheme was announced in March this year to catalyse the market for faster adoption of EVs. The scheme incentivises the purchase of 10 lakh electric 2-wheelers, 5 lakh e-rickshaws and 7,090 e-buses. Also, an allotment of Rs 10,000 crore was announced as incentives for various categories of EVs.
However, charging remains the biggest deterrent to potential EV buyers in India. Experts believe that setting up of adequate battery swapping stations across the country will ease the EV transition. Battery swapping enables replacement of a depleted lithium-ion battery with a fully charged one in few minutes. The industry body FICCI has urged the government to incentivise battery swapping stations as it is being given to EV charging stations under FAME II.
The end-user industries are also expressing their commitments towards successful adoption of EVs. In a recent move, the Walmart-controlled e-commerce giant Flipkart has announced an aggressive plan to replace its entire delivery fleet with EVs and accordingly 40 per cent of replacement is targeted by March 2020.
So, I wouldn’t be wrong in saying that, the nation is on the brink of a ‘green’ mobility revolution.
