Introduction:
Source: Reuters https://img.etimg.com/thumb/msid
Electric Vehicles in India are growing rapidly. It is a demand to go green and save the environment with sustainable development. In this way, alternative fuel vehicles are in global demand. Electric vehicles are the most popular and adopted way to go green globally. In India, many Indian manufacturers as well as foreign investors have already launched many brands in the Indian Market.
India is growing their EVs market in all segments like two-wheelers, Three-wheelers, four-wheelers, and commercial buses & trucks.
Indian Government has supported electric vehicles with several rebates like manufacturing rebates to the producers and tax rebates to the customers.
Despite that, there are still electric vehicles are still facing many challenges.
# Challenges for Electric Vehicles:
1. Mindset of the Consumers for Electric Vehicles:
The majority of Indian Customers are unaware of the impact of emissions on the environment and the after-effects of the same on future generations, so they are not very sensible to stop the pollutants and make their environment clean and green.
2. Affordability of EVs:
Even after government incentives and tax rebates, still electric vehicles are costlier compared to gasoline-engine vehicles. The running cost of these electric vehicles is less but the initial cost of purchasing the vehicle is high. The Indian government has reduced costs with FAME 2 incentives. The two-wheelers and three-wheelers can achieve cost uniformity and even reduce cost in the long term for vehicles operating in commercial activities. But we are behind in achieving this equality for four-wheeler segments.
3. Charging Anxiety with EVs:
Even though the electric vehicles market in India is growing and the consumer base is increasing day by day. Still, there is a fear in the mind of the electric vehicle driver of getting discharged their car vehicles in between trips. The charging infrastructure is not growing very rapidly in India; we have only 20,000 public charging stations to date. Many major players are in the field to develop the charging infrastructure but it will take a long time to come into existence.
4. Range of EVs:
The average range of Indian electric cars is around 350 to 400 k.ms and this is good for the city and around-the-city movement but in the end, there is always a fear of being discharged, during the trip.
5. Convenience: Charging a vehicle takes time to get it fully charged and is not as easy as re-filling the fuel in the vehicle. Even though the public charging stations are not very close around out of the city, it is also a tough job to get your vehicle fully charged. It takes a minimum of 30 minutes to 2 hours to get it at its full charge.
6. Regulatory Challenges:
The government policies and regulations are not very clear and consistent. The well-defined regulations, clear tax incentives & rebates, and setting clear targets for electric vehicle adoption can encourage investment and innovation in the sector.
#Opportunities of Electric Vehicles in India:
Apart from all the challenges with electric vehicles in India, there are many opportunities also associated with this like:
1. Government Support to Electric Vehicles:
The Indian government is committed to the development and promotion of alternative fuel vehicles and electric vehicles as part of these initiatives comes under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) Scheme. The FAME is the financial scheme supported by the Indian Government to provide financial incentives for the adoption of Electric Vehicles.
2. Growing Market:
The urban population of India is growing rapidly and this population is of literate people, who are more concerned about environmental issues. As the awareness of a clean and green environment rises, more consumers are willing to switch to alternative fuel vehicles and electric vehicles are one of the best available choices to date.
3. Job Creation:
The electric vehicle development and growth create many employment opportunities in the fields of research and development, design, manufacturing, sales, service, and various sister concerns.
4. Innovations:
The Indian electric vehicle market provides opportunities for innovations in different areas like battery technology innovations, charging infrastructure development, and electric mobility solutions for the country’s special needs and challenges.
5. Rural Electrification:
The rural electrification initiative will be geared up with the adoption of electric vehicles, as this will accelerate initiatives like solar-powered charging stations. This could bring clean transportation options to remote areas.
6. Partnership and collaboration:
The Indian government, industry players, and academia can come together and in collaboration, they can drive innovations and accelerate the growth of the electric vehicle ecosystem. Partnerships with international players can provide new innovative technologies and even foreign investments.
7. Export Potential:
India has the potential to become a manufacturing hub for electric vehicles with a cost-effective and skilled workforce.
Conclusion:
This is the new era of alternative fuel vehicles and electric vehicles are one of the most popular globally. There are many of government support to promote electric vehicles in India. The government is providing many rebates and tax relaxation. FAME is employed to promote the faster manufacturing and adoption of electric vehicles throughout India. Even though, there are many challenges in the expansion of electric vehicles unawareness of Indian consumers, less and undeveloped Infrastructure like charging networks, High initial cost of the vehicles, etc.
Despite all the challenges, we should come forward to sustainable development to provide a clean and green environment for future generations.
