The article is contributed By Vikash-Mishra, CEO and Co-founder of Moeving.
Animals, especially horses, have been central to transportation for a millennium. We humans had built our entire mobility infrastructure to suit this mode of transportation. However, when the modern car came into existence in the early 1900s, it replaced horses at an unanticipated pace. In a few urban settings like New York, the transition took less than a decade. People had to completely rebuild the transportation infrastructure, including fuel pumps, service stations and roads. And, this happened while the world was fighting World War I.
A hundred years later, today, the transport industry is coming full circle. The world is at the cusp of another transportation revolution, one that promises to eliminate emissions related to transportation and make it sustainable again. This time, the ICE (Internal Combustion Engines) engines are at the receiving end. As of today, it might look like an insignificant trickle globally but the tipping point for Electric Vehicles (EV) is not far. With much of Europe already reaching double digit percentage sales penetration, steadily globally uptake of EVs driven by technology innovation, will do to ICE vehicles exactly what happened to horse-driven vehicles; obsolete. The speed at which the transition will take place in this decade, especially in high-density areas like larger cities, means we will witness a time when EVs will outnumber fossil fuel vehicles by several times.
The transition will not be a simple passing of the baton though. We will have to reimagine the entire transport industry like we did when transitioning from horses to cars. Working in siloed partnerships will not lead to meaningful at-scale growth, but taking a holistic ecosystem approach to tie all the loose ends can lead to faster adoption of EVs. The form factor of EVs, which has started as an extension or as a mirror image of the ICEVs, will transform significantly. These will be largely triggered by economic dynamics (policy push towards manufacturing, new age financing of vehicles, natural realignment of cities in line with MRTS, etc.), technology interventions from AI, IoT (leveraging data science for better vehicle quality, autonomous technologies), battery form-factor (flexible batteries allowing EV form factors fluidity), as well as fast charging technology (adding to range and reducing downtime). However, the biggest impact on how EVs evolve will be triggered by changing human behaviour. As people move from ownership to access, and as more move to hybrid working styles, the way people view mobility will change.
Like during the transition from horses to cars, there will be massive disruption with some clear winners and heavy losers. Like in the 1900s, transportation infrastructure was rebuilt, during the EV disruption, given the higher upfront vehicle cost but lower vehicle built-up complexity, we need to further optimize our EV infrastructure investments, for example in terms of charging and maintenance, and build highly distributed, accessible low cost infrastructure with an ecosystem approach. There will be limitless opportunities for early adopters who can visualise some of these changes early enough. This is true for people and organisations, but even more so for nations. India, due to its unique position (very low per-capita personal vehicle density, evolving urban infrastructure, robust start-up ecosystem, abundance of rare earth metals, growing renewable energy focus) can become a global hub for EV manufacturing and adoption if it plays its cards right.
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by MoEVing.
Electric Vehicles have brought revolution in automotive industry. The electric vehicle industry in India is a growing fastly. The EV market in India was valued at USD 5.5 Billion in 2020. As per the experts, it is expected to reach USD 17 Billion in five years. Recently, in December 2021, more than 50,000 registration were done for electric vehicles. This shows the customers interest in electric vehicles in India. EVs may soon replace ICE vehicles. Government also supports the market. The central and state governments have launched several schemes and incentives to promote electric vehicles in India. Investors are also inclined to invest in EV space.
Looking at the growth and opportunity in EV market, MoEVing was started. MoEVing is a technology Platform with a vision to accelerate EV adoption in India. Know about the MoEVing company, founders, funding, business and revenue model, and the startup story.
MoEVing is accelerating EV adoption with a unique technology based platform approach. Founded in February 2021, in Gurgaon (India), MoEVing is India’s first technology platform focused on developing the EV ecosystem with data at the center of its strategy. MoEVing’s current product offering on the demand side, provides solutions to top e-commerce, e-grocery, FMCG, logistics and D2C companies to optimize their logistics costs and meet their goals of reducing carbon emissions. At the same time, on the supply side, MoEVing works with OEMs, driver cum owners and financial institutions to help address various constraints that are coming in the way of EV adoption.
MoEVing is a technology led company with a vision to transform the EV ecosystem to accelerate EV adoption in India. It is a holistic approach to demand aggregation, supply optimization, connecting with charging infrastructure and financing.
MoEVing’s platform approach enables drivers to become micro-entrepreneurs, allowing assured revenue, access to charging solutions, financing, vehicle-know how, and thus increasing their income by 50%.
MoEVing – Industry
EV adoption in India is at an inflexion point particularly in 2W and 3W in commercial mobility for intra-city use cases (range of 80-120 kms) driven by multiple reasons, the top ones being:
Government push towards electrification of commercial fleet including by way of subsidy of ~10-15% of vehicle cost.
Electric vehicle adoption in India is at the right inflection point to leverage it to create both economical and sustainable benefits for the society. 2021 is the year where many critical ecosystem players have become active in the EV ecosystem, including OEMs bringing in high quality EV vehicle products into the market, charging infrastructure development becoming easier on ground and new age banks being open to financing EVs. With a management team having run over 100 Million Kilometers and a cumulative EV sector experience of 30 years, the team at it’s core believes that electrification of the B2B delivery space is possible today and provides a great business opportunity for accelerating adoption of EVs among last mile delivery drivers.
MoEVing – Founders and Team
Vikash Mishra – Founder of MoEVing
The founders, Vikash Mishra (ex McKinsey, Shell, EV background) and Mragank Jain (ex. Standard Chartered Private Equity, A.T. Kearney) along with the key management team have experience of managing an electric vehicle fleet that has run over 100 million kilometers, policy advocacy and scaling up large businesses. MoEVing is backed by angel investors of high repute including professionals from private equity background, board members of the largest automotive OEM in India and others.
Vikash Mishra serves as Chief Executive Officer of MoEVing.
With over 20 years experience in the energy and mobility industry, he is responsible for MoEVing’s vision and development. He has been supporting the electric mobility ecosystem for the past 5 years and has even set up the Electric Mobility Initiative at Shakti Foundation for EV policy advocacy, while leading business at Lithium, the largest EV fleet operator and charging infra network. Vikash has a deep understanding of the energy industry and energy transition.
Mragank Jain serves as Chief Strategy Officer of MoEVing.
With over 20 years experience in the private equity and consulting industry in his extensive time in private equity with Standard Chartered Private Equity and SUN Group, he is responsible for MoEVing’s strategic directions and growth. He has been supporting the growth and development of various portfolio companies while playing the role of a board member. Mragank has a deep understanding of technology, automotive, financial services and logistics sectors.
MoEVing – Idea & Startup Story
Vikash, Founder of MoEVing has been in the electric vehicle fleet business for multiple years, has experience running both electric bus fleets and electric car fleets. Given his in-depth understanding on the vehicle products, operating these new age EV products and related infrastructure, being part of building the EV policy framework in India and working with large fleets, he instantly knew late 2020 that India is at an inflection point where one needs to tie the loose ends and take an ecosystem approach to accelerating EV adoption.
When the pandemic hit, he realised what a large opportunity the B2B last mile delivery space provides in terms of electrification. Having been in the space for years, he approached leaders across various sectors, investors, OEMs, charging infrastructure companies, policy makers, financiers, including brainstorming with his college batchmate, Mragank on how this very inflection point in the automotive sector can be leveraged into making a profitable business opportunity. Post multiple brainstorms with potential clients, drivers, financiers and various stakeholders, Vikash realised that the issue wasn’t optimizing order delivery which was already solved by organizations like Delhivery, Porter and Shadowfax. The issue was now reducing cost of logistics on the demand side due to unstable fuel prices as well as there being not one player who is enabling adoption of low cost vehicle technology like EVs for the driver cum owners.
This is when Vikash established MoEVing in early 2021 as a driver-centric platform that provides full-stack technology solutions including delivery, charging, financing and analytics solutions thereby making EV adoption a seamless process.
MoEVing – Vision
In five years, MoEVing expects to become a $1 billion revenue company, providing full stack solutions across form factors, with deep data expertise, having international presence and a business structure where investors with different risk profiles can participate. MoEVing has raised over $5 Million in seed capital to prove the playbook and roll- out the technology platform.
MoEVing – Name, Tagline, and Logo
MoEVing Logo
The core vision of the startup is MOEVING people and goods emissions free! Integrating the aspect of EV to moving got us MOEVING! The logo was designed to be simple for all to understand with a focus on EV.
MoEVing – Product & Services
MoEVing Operations across India
Electric vehicles are revolutionizing the larger automotive sector both for people and goods movement. With the enhancement of product availability across various vehicle form factors in India, intra-city logistics is a $375 Billion opportunity that can be electrified swiftly. MoEVing provides a full stack solution to e-commerce, e-grocery, FMCG, logistics and D2C companies, where it is the single point of contact for end to end services once the goods are lifted from MoEVing’s customer hubs to be delivered to end-consumer. Currently MoEVing provides intra-city goods movement services where per day usage of a vehicle is 80-120 kms to align with the travel range that vehicles offer per charge. As more and more vehicle types (light commercial vehicles, 4W, buses, trucks) become available and are commercially viable, MoEVing will continue to on-board all vehicle form factors onto its platform.
MoEVing’s business model rests on data driven defensibility as its foundation. With every vehicle being connected to the technology platform on a real time basis, MoEVing has created a data warehouse and is developing data science algorithms to drive commercial outcomes from gathered intelligence around battery behaviour, vehicle behaviour and driver behaviour leading to additional revenue streams. MoEVing’s platform is curated in a manner which allows low customer acquisition cost (CAC), low customer churn, scalable with international application with data as a moat in the business.
MoEVing – Funding
Date
Stage
Amount
Investors
December 2021
Seed Round
$5 Million
D.S. Brar, Promoter-Chairman, Aragen Life Sciences; Anshuman Maheshwary, COO, IIFL Wealth and Asset Management; Dr. Srihari Raju Kalidindi, Executive Director & COO Viyash life sciences; D.N. Reddy, Managing partner, Vindhya Group; Ashish Goel, Founder, Urban Ladder; Krishnadeva Veerareddy, Serial Tech Entrepreneur; Vijay Dutt, Founder, Citadel Management Consulting; Manas Fuloria, Founder & CEO, Nagarro; Nishant Sharma, Co-Founder, Managing Partner & CIO, Kedaara Capital; Mukul Dhyani, Senior IT Executive based out of Europe, Naresh Agarwal, Head of India R&D, Traceable; Abhishek Poddar, MD, Macquarie (MIRA); Mayank Gupta, ex-KKR Director; Anand Dalmia, Co-Founder, Fisdom; Bhanu Singhal, ex-Citibank, Govind Agarwal; Chaitanya Kamdar, Subodh Gupta and Mukesh Tiwari.
MoEVing – Getting Clients after Startup Launch
The company was incorporated on January 19th 2021 and signed its first PAN India contract on January 21st, 2021 with one of India’s biggest e-grocery companies. Their main strategy was and is delivering the best service to ensure there is no reason for any client to not convert their last mile delivery to electric. MoEVing started with 1 client and expanded very quickly to 20+ clients in 11 months because they continuously provided their thesis operationally and supported various requirements of clients and drivers to make the transition to EVs seamless.
The company has a low/zero CAC business model, since the beginning they have no sales people in their team. The growth is purely driven by two factors.
The clients, top e-commerce, e-grocery, FMCG, logistics and D2C companies needing to optimize their logistics costs and meet their goals of reducing carbon emissions.
Time and again, the proven track record with multiple customers of scaling fleet across cities and across vehicle form factors, nationally.
MoEVing – Challenges Faced
Here are some to the major challenges faced initially:
Client based challenges: Electrification of the fleet requires fundamental changes in the operational approach, which leads to us crossing initial knowledge hurdles with any client or driver they onboard.
Infrastructure based challenges: Currently most charging infrastructure providers are focusing investments towards fast charging solely focused on B2C uptake with close to no planning overlap with B2B EV charging usage where the larger percentage of adoption will take place in the coming 5 years. This created an issue for MoEVing initially but now they create their own charging spaces where drivers can charge vehicles, park, get their vehicle maintenance & related services done.
Financing based challenges: With no proven product life cycle and product know-how, it was initially difficult to convince both traditional and new age financiers to finance EVs at an affordable rate.
Driver based challenges: Initial challenges around driver training, basic understanding of EVs and how to charge them. But these are easily overcome through company’s driver training.
MoEVing – Growth
MoEVing Growth
Since its inception in February 2021, MoEVing has signed contracts worth US$ 180 million in revenue potential (over three years) with 20 clients in e-commerce, e-grocery, FMCG, logistics and D2C companies. The Company has established its presence in 10 cities and operates a fleet of 650 vehicles (3W and 2W) and has a 90 people team.
MoEVing – Competitors
No player is taking an ecosystem approach towards EV adoption currently, most of the EV logistics players are solving for delivery optimization using EVs. Currently players in the same space are Mahindra Logsitics, Zypp, and LoadXX.
In the next 24 months, MoEVing aims to onboard 25,000 driver cum EV owners by end of 2023, have 50% of India’s charging stations on its app, finance a large proportion of EV fleet and facilitate financing of the same through other partners, and abate 2 Billion MT of carbon.
MoEVing – FAQs
When was MoEVing founded?
MoEVing was founded in February 2021 at Gurugram.
Who are the founders of MoEVing?
Vikash Mishra and Mragank Jain are the founders of MoEVing.
What services MoEVing offers?
MoEVing offers delivery services across different sectors, charging services, training programs for drivers and others.
You must have already heard about Ola Electric scooters, popularly dubbed as “A revolution on two wheels”? They are the reason for the popularity of #JoinTheRevolution.
Promising exceptional acceleration, remarkable handling, and strikingly large boot space, Ola’s electric vehicles can be charged anytime, anywhere and will eventually have the world’s largest and the most advanced factory in Tamil Nadu. They have certainly come up with revolutionary vehicles with an eye towards a sustainable future.
The Ola Electric scooters have already been available for pre-booking with a token sum of Rs 499 from July 15, 2020, and have witnessed more than 1 lakh registrations within the first couple of days. Words are going around that Ola will have these scooters home delivered for the people who will register for them online and the deliveries have also been started lately amidst the numerous roadblocks that the EV mobility makers had to face due to the global crunch of semiconductors.
With an aim to empower cleantech when it comes to transportation, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has revealed the plans of the Indian government to create special mobility zones for electric vehicles and the focus on implementing effective battery-swapping policy along with the formation of interoperability standards during the Union Budget speech 2022. Though the setting up of EV charging stations across the country is something that has been going rounds for months now, this new focus on battery-swapability is something new and interesting!
Though the luxury carmakers, the likes of Mercedes and Jaguar Land Rover have already been delivering their vehicles home for their customers for quite a while now, Ola will certainly be the first vehicle manufacturer in India to do so!
So, have you already booked the Ola scooters for yourselves? If not, then here are some alternatives that you can check out in case you are planning to buy electric scooters:
Ather 450X was launched in 2020 and has remained a best-seller in its category to date. And why not? The vehicle simply packs some of the best features of its kind.
The Ather electric scooter can be charged from 0-80% in around 3 hours 35 minutes and offers a driving range of 116 km when fully charged. The ex-showroom price of the vehicles starts from Rs 1,32,426 in Delhi.
Simple One
Simple Energy was incorporated in 2019 and is a Bengaluru-based electric startup company. Recently they have announced that they are about to launch their first electric scooter, Simple One, which will be released in August 2021.
These scooters will offer a driving range of 240kms in one 70 minutes charge. The ex-showroom price of these vehicles would likely be starting from Rs 1,10,000 and are deemed to be one of the prominent rivals of Ola Scooters.
TVS iQube
TVS Motor Company is one of the oldest, popular motorcycle manufacturing companies of India, which is currently the third-largest motorcycle company with a revenue of over Rs 20,000 crores in the last fiscal.
TVS has been in the league of electric scooters since 2008 when it first launched TVS Scooty Teenz. Its iQube is the second model in the same segment. Launched on January 25, 2020, iQube has become one of the best-selling electric scooters in Indian markets.
These scooters can achieve a 40 kmph speed within 4.2 seconds. Furthermore, they offer a maximum distance of 75 km in a single, full charge and are definitely a big, old rival for Ola’s e-scooter.
Founded as early as 1887 in Japan, Yamaha Motor Company is really one of the oldest motor companies in India that have built enormous trust with its quality products and services.
Yamaha has already seen a successful run with its scooter models and has announced the forthcoming launch, in June 2021, of its electric scooter in the Indian market. The motorcycle maker has also stated that it is currently being thorough with the Indian policies around electric vehicles before unveiling its electric bike.
Suzuki Burgman Electric
Suzuki Motorcycle India, an Indian subsidiary of Suzuki, Japan, is one of the Big Four motorcycle manufacturers from Japan along with Yamaha, Kawasaki, and Honda, and has already witnessed a successful venture with its scooters and motorcycles in India.
Given the latest hype surrounding electric scooters in India, Suzuki India is also planning to launch its first electric bike, Suzuki Burgman Electric, which is to hit the roads in December 2021 and is billed as a powerful alternative to Ola Electric.
The scooters will likely wield a top speed of 80kmph, and sport a driving range of around 125km. They might also have swappable/portable battery technology. Burgman’s petrol scooters are priced around Rs 1 lakh mark, and the electric offering might be starting from Rs 1.50 lakh, on-road.
Hero Gogoro
Hero Motorcorp, which was formerly known as Hero Honda, is the largest two-wheeler manufacturer in the world as well as in India. The Indian motorcycle manufacturing giant based in New Delhi, India, has already won the hearts of the Indians with their varied motorcycles for all kinds of customers and is now eyeing a similar success with its electric bike that is set to launch in 2022.
Hero has already partnered with EV behemoth, Gogoro, and is all set to set up charging infrastructures all over the country, then release their electric scooter. Coming quite late in the market Hero-Gogoro vehicles are deemed to have a good understanding of the market and will be foolproof against any odds!
As of July 2021, we can expect a price tag of Rs 1.3 lakh, until any further updates but it will surely be a challenger to all the electric vehicle manufacturers including Ola Electric.
Bajaj Auto Limited, a part of Bajaj Group, which was founded in the 1940s, had been quite popular with its two-wheelers and three-wheelers ever since its vehicles hit the road. Bajaj Chetak, the most popular scooter from the house of Bajaj, has already established a legacy, from 1972-2006, in the Indian scooter market.
Bajaj launched its Chetak Electric in January 2020, to recreate the magic. With a riding range of 90 km on a full charge, and promising a full charge of 100% within 5 hours, Chetak Electric is holding a strong position in the market as of now.
Conclusion
With a battleground ahead to make a place for themselves in the two-wheeler market of India, Ola Electric should surely prove its resilience to stay strong in the upcoming years. Nevertheless, the future for Indian two-wheelers is indeed in the safe hands of a bunch of trustworthy vehicle producers, who are not only racing for their own benefit but for the overall good of the country and the world with their eco-friendly vehicles.
FAQ
What is the price of Ola electric scooter in India?
The Ola electric scooter is priced around Rs 80,000 to Rs 1 lakh in India.
Which is best electric scooter in India?
Revolt RV400, TVS iQube Electric, Bajaj Chetak, and Ather 450X are some of the best electric scooters in India.
What is the range of Ola electric scooter?
The Ola electric scooters can achieve a range of 130-150 kilometers.
The world is moving really fast. It was never in history that we had the luxury to learn about anything in the world from the comfort of our homes. The information that we deal with (on a daily basis) is immense. All of this just doesn’t come up out of the blue, it has a price that we pay every day. The price is some of the other natural resources or some non-replenishable resource. But now the world is witnessing the shift. The shift from non-sustainable methods of human activities to more sustainable methods.
One of the pioneers of such a transition is EVs. It is an acronym for Electric Vehicles. It is forecasted that these cars (or vehicles) will be the future of not just public transport but will be the future of private transportation as well. With that being said, everyone is trying to get into the business of EVs. Every other car manufacturer is making their cars electric.
In an immensely population-dense country, India, the sector is getting ready to launch. Top-notch companies are planning to disrupt this market with some innovation. Except for one carmaker, Maruti Suzuki. The largest carmaker in India will refrain from entering the electric vehicles market in India. This article talks about what are (and could) be the reasons for such waste of potential.
Maruti Suzuki Plans about launching EV in the Indian Market
First, let us give you some context. It has been reported that the country’s largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki has plans that they will not enter the electric vehicles markets in the short term. This trend of refraining will continue till the market is feasible. Chairman R C Bhargava told shareholders at the company’s 40th annual general meeting.
Yes, this news surfaced all over the internet. It shook not only the investors but people who had hopes for the company to launch EV. Adding to the news, RC Bhargava, the chairman, told the investors and shareholders that the carmaker has no plans to enter the EV market in the short term. They will only enter the market when the market will show some feasibility in the future. This was seen as the main highlight of the 40th annual general meeting that was held last year.
Adding to the notion of not entering the EV Market, Bhargava said the government’s focus is on developing the two-wheelers with the primary goal of electrification.
In the product segment of two-wheelers, Hero and Ola have been innovating. We all know that Hero is trying its best to enter the electric vehicle market and on the other hand it is developing infrastructure for charging electric vehicles.
Ola, the ride-sharing and taxi service startup is also looking forward to an electric future, so much so that they recently launched their product called the “Ola Electric”. Ola electric is a two-wheeler that runs on electricity. Thus, apart from the product segments of the two-wheeler category, remains the passenger vehicle segment. This is the primary market of Maruti Suzuki and they are quite unaffected by the newborn electric vehicles in this segment.
Bhargava added that they know that the sale volume is minimal and it is not in much of a magnitude. This easily predicts that folks at Maruti Suzuki are trying to play it safe rather than just jump on what is the hottest trend in the market right now.
In the passenger vehicles segment, a few manufacturers have brought EVs, “but the sales volume is minimal, and it has had no impact on the market share of Maruti Suzuki,” Bhargava said.
Annual EV Sales in India
Another fact that is baffling the EV enthusiasts is that other vehicle makers like Tata Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra are already running fast in the EV race.
Tata Nexon EV
They are so much into Electric vehicles that they have already manufactured a little over a dozen battery-powered vehicles. That trend in those carmakers can be seen among various product segments.
They are even forecasted to be more active in the market in the short future. Up till 2025, they will lead the Indian Electric Vehicles market by much more than the then-newcomer in the EV market, Maruti Suzuki.
Why is Maruti Suzuki Refraining from the EV Market?
When asked why the country’s topmost car maker is refraining from the EV market they replied with a rather satisfactory answer. Bhargava mentioned that Maruti Suzuki is currently planning to focus on the Electric vehicle segment, without making a loss on its basic and natural operating cycle. This was what he replied when investors enquired about the Electric vehicle segment.
In response to queries from several shareholders, Bhargava said Maruti Suzuki is looking at the electric vehicle (EV) segment without making a loss on operations.
“Maruti Suzuki is the leader in the passenger vehicle industry, and it fully intends to have leadership in EVs. But to be sure, Maruti Suzuki’s focus in the short term is CNG and hybrid vehicles – until the time EVs reach a certain scale. On its part, the company’s sister arm – Suzuki – and Denso and Toshiba, have already started working on localization of lithium-ion cells and engaging with the vendor fraternity to have a deeper localization to deliver an EV “that is accessible and delivers enough scale to add to the bottom line.” he added
After the statements by Maruti’s Chairman, one thing is clear that Maruti Suzuki has hopes for electric vehicles, but it doesn’t want to just jump right into the trend. It is waiting for a little more stabilised market in the Electric vehicle market and until then, Maruti is cleansing the company to better fit the EV market in the future. It is not scared of the innovations but just doesn’t want to regret any early investments. After all, it is such a big organisation and also holds a lot of expectations.
When will Maruti Suzuki Enter the Indian EV Market?
Suzuki’s parent company had said an India special EV might be ready by 2025. Regarding issues related to climate change, zero-emission and carbon neutrality, India has to follow its own schedule and not be pressured by the timelines set by more developed nations in the world, the chairman asserted.
“Yes, we must work with the rest of the world, we must be concerned about climate change, we must go on to reduce emissions. But we and the world have both to recognise the disparities in income and living styles and the disparity in the consumption of energy per capita in the developed world and India,” Bhargava answered.
The company will be launching an all-new sports utility vehicle next year to expand its footprint in the fast-growing segment in the mainstream market. The development work on the vehicle is underway, which will be introduced shortly. “Once we have the SUV next year, we will have more market share in that area”, he added.
It is clear from the above statements that the company clearly understands what the Indian user would want. It is true that the whole of India is not readily agreeing on shifting to electric vehicles and it will take some time. Until then Maruti plans to do more research and development on prospective investments.
Current Situation of Maruti Suzuki
If we look at the current situation in the product segment, we will find that Maruti Suzuki is the dominator of the vehicle segment. It has, in the local markets, very well accepted cars like that of Wagon R, Swift, Baleno, Vitara Brezza, Ertiga, XL6 and the S-cross. On the other hand, Hyundai (Korean rival) has made good growth in the SUV category.
Top Best-Selling Cars of December 2021
Separately, Bhargava said while Maruti Suzuki has faced some loss in production due to the shortage in availability of semiconductors, it is not of major concern. The current shortage of semiconductors facing the automobile industry is temporary, partly caused by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and is expected to be over by 2022.
“Meanwhile, there has been a bit of a hit on the production of vehicles, and we have had to adjust, but there is no major loss that we have to be concerned about,” Bhargava said.
Bhargava has a thought process. That is, he thinks that India has to look after the citizens’ needs and wants. The only way to do that is to increase the lifestyle of individuals. They have to be better equipped with income to spend and live a decent life, this will create new demand for not just electric vehicles but everything else.
Not only this, he believes that this will also help in catching up with the rest of the world. The electronic vehicle is a concept that was first released in the outer boundaries of the world where technology is developed. They also enjoy a slightly better lifestyle than most Indians. EVs have to be tailor-made for Indians.
“It will require a much higher per capita energy consumption even if we adopt much more energy efficient means of consumption”. Bhargava pointed.
Bhargava further said: “And to do that we cannot follow everything which the West does. We have to make our own schedules and programmes and ensure that we do not adopt rules and regulations, which results in the people of India not being able ever to come up to the point of levels which they need to come up with to reduce (the gap) with the rest of the world.”
The above article points to the boundaries and the centre of the news piece that showed everyone. It is true that the homegrown vehicle maker Maruti Suzuki has hopes and aspirations for Electric scenes in India. But it surely does not want to do that in haste. Maruti has reported some slight losses due to manufacturing issues due to the unavailability of semiconductors. This however is not a big issue and they are getting better everyday. Maruti plans to be a little more stable in operations before they start investing in the Electric vehicle segment.
The news smoke came even when rival companies like Tata Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra had lined up a lot in the Electric vehicle domain. It is forecasted that up until 2025 they will launch some dozen more EVs for citizens.
To those queries, the officials have already answered the raised questions. Bhargava said Maruti Suzuki is looking at the electric vehicle (EV) segment without making a loss on operations. India is a special market for everything, not just in the segments of the electric vehicle.
One who understands the markets and the needs of Indian customers are set to rule the market. Maruti over the years have done really well in the passenger vehicle segments, and this is good proof of their understanding of the Indian scenario.
FAQ
Is Maruti coming with electric cars?
Yes, Maruti has plans to enter the Indian EV market in 2025.
What is the price of the Maruti electric car?
The Wagon R electric will be priced at 10 lakhs in India, which is slated to launch in 2025.
Why is Maruti not making electric cars?
Maruti Suzuki’s chairman, R C Bhargava stated in its annual general meeting that, They will only enter the market when the market will show some feasibility in the future.
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Terra Motors.
Founded by Toru Tokushige in April 2010, Terra Motors is a Japanese EV manufacturing corporation. It designs and manufactures IoT-enabled high-quality Battery Operated 2 and 3 wheeler EVs, to replace fuel-run traditional vehicles. The company is working towards creating a clean and sustainable society with the use of EVs and was established with an idea to help in improving the quality of air by reducing emissions with the help of its electric vehicles.
StartupTalky interviewed Mr. Akihiro Ueda (CEO & President, Terra Motors) to get insights on the Journey of Terra Motors and the roadmap of the organization. In this article, you’ll discover how Terra Motors started, know its team, investors, competitors, and more.
Terra Motors is a Japanese EV manufacturing corporation founded in April 2010, it ventured into the Indian markets in 2014, with the idea of creating transportation solutions using Japanese technology. The company is working towards creating a clean and sustainable society with the use of EVs and was established with an idea to help in improving the quality of air by reducing emissions with the help of its electric vehicles. The team is working towards creating an infrastructure for the future of the transportation industry in India with IoT-enabled smart vehicles, charging infrastructure, micro logistics, and much more.
Approximately over 3 million EVs are plying on Indian roads today, and the Indian EV market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 44% during 2020-2027 with the annual sales hitting 63 lakh units by 2027. With the rising prices of fuel and fuel-run vehicles and various government policies to promote the use of EVs over fuel-run vehicles, this prediction is definitely going to surpass. An estimate by MarketWatch report, India mentioned that there will be over 20 lakh EVs on the roads by 2026.
How Terra Motors Started?
Transistor Radio from Sony, Cars from Honda, Japan has been known to bring world-class quality products in various sectors in the market and this is what inspired Toru Tokushige (Founder-Chairperson) to come up with the inception of terra motors. The inspiration was to create a world-class brand in the EV Sector and E-Mobility. They wanted to address the social problem of rising air pollution in the world with their products. Their vision is to create a smart and convenient society by providing a sustainable and clean transport ecosystem.
Terra Motors – Products
Terra Motors design and manufacture IoT – enabled high-quality Battery Operated 2 and 3 wheeler EVs, to replace fuel-run traditional vehicles, they are as robust and reliable as their fuel-run counterparts but provide better mileage and creates zero emissions.
Terra Motors – eBike & eRickshaw
With proper infrastructure, which is still under development, the company can achieve a lot with IoT enabled vehicles, it can help in setting up smart cities, better-charging infrastructure, traffic management, self-driving vehicles, better last-mile delivery, micro logistics, real-time vehicle status, and much more and this is what Terra Motors is planning for the future.
Terra Motors – Founder and Team
Founder of Terra Motors/ Chairperson – Toru Tokushige
Terra Motors Team
Akihiro Ueda | CEO, Terra Motors
Akihiro Ueda joined Sharp Corporation, Japan, in 2008. Three years later he was in the United Arab Emirates, working to expand Sharp’s business in the Middle East and Africa. He joined Terra Motors Corporation in March 2015 as a sales manager and within no time was in charge of 4 Asian Countries, becoming CEO of Terra Motors Corporation in October 2019. He brings over 10 years of professional experience in Sales and Marketing and has a wealth of knowledge in the Asian Electric Vehicle industry, having served markets outside Japan; such as South Africa, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Nepal.
Kosuke Nakagawa | COO, Terra Motors
Kosuke Nakagawa joined Terra Motors Corporation as an intern in 2013 following his dream of creating an innovative social system – which would lead to future global trends. Since 2015 he worked on building a huge sales network in the East India region, which in turn acted as a catalyst to achieve 10x sales in just two years.
Masanori Takahashi | CTO, Terra Motors
Masanori Takahashi joined Terra Motor Corporation in 2014. Initially, he was in charge of field research and development of battery and charger for 3-wheelers; but on arriving in India developed and produced a super hit EV model which took the Indian Market by storm. He was appointed as a CTO in 2018, and also appointed as a Director in 2019.
Electric Vehicles are still very new to the Indian markets and have very low adaptability due to their comparatively high initial cost and lack of charging infrastructure as we know.
For the cost aspect, the Indian government has done a commendable job when it comes to promoting the use of EVs in India, subsidizing taxes on EVs and other benefits to end-users has attracted a lot of buyers to switch to EV cars and 2 wheelers, But for the commercial transport industry, this isn’t enough. An end-user in the commercial market is a Rickshaw driver whose annual income is appx 3 LPA. And the cost of EV is almost half of his annual income, to address this Terra Motors has come up with Terra Finance that allows them to purchase an EV on easy monthly installments at attractively low interest rates.
The company is also in talks with various government and non-government tie-ups for improving the charging infrastructure in India.
Terra Motors – Investors
Terra Motors’ investors include Nobuyuki Idei (Sony), Masaru Murai (Compaq), Koichiro Tsujino (Google), and Kenji Yamamoto (Apple).
Terra Motors has tie-Ups with RevFin, Pooja Finlease, Indusland Bank, and Team Vedika for Terra Finance.
Terra Motors – Competitors
The top competitors of Terra Motors are Mahindra Electric, Tata, Hero Electric, Ampere Vehicles, PIAGGIO, and Okinawa.
Terra Motors – FAQs
What is Terra Motors?
Terra Motors is a Japanese EV manufacturing corporation. It designs and manufactures IoT-enabled high-quality Battery Operated 2 and 3 wheeler EVs, to replace fuel-run traditional vehicles.
Who founded Terra Motors?
Toru Tokushige founded Terra Motors in 2010.
When did Terra Motors venture into the Indian market?
Terra Motors ventured into the Indian Market in 2014.
Electric Vehicles have created a huge sensation across the world. There are many companies trying to manufacture EVs which includes the reputed firms such as Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi and even Apple have been said to release their own EV. However, Tesla coming to India had created a hype through the social media for a while but now the Triton EV which is a rival of Tesla has entered into India for setting up its manufacturing facility. In this article let’s look at whether Triton would be able to overpower Tesla.
The US based Electric Vehicle manufacturing company Triton which is a rival of Elon Musk’s Tesla has signed a Memorandum of understanding with the Government of Telangana to open its manufacturing facility. The state of the art manufacturing facility of Triton will be opened in the Zahirabad area of Telangana.
Triton Facility and Jobs in India
The manufacturing facility in India will be built over a million square feet area and is expected to create up to 24,000 jobs in the state. This was conveyed by the Triton EV and the Government of Telangana.
In a statement, the company has stated that in the span of the next 5 years, Triton EV will invest around USD 1.5 billion into the manufacturing facility set up in India. The first set of investments of around USD 300 million will be done in the coming few months.
The company is investing around INR 2,100 crore in order to establish an ultra modern vehicle manufacturing unit in Telangana. The project is set to provide employment to around 25,000 people and the company plans to produce around 50,000 vehicles in the first 5 years. The vehicles would include sedans, SUVs, semi-trucks and rickshaws.
Demand of Triton in India
The chairperson of Triton EV in India has said that the company already has orders worth USD 2.2 billion and also added that the Government of Telangana has provided the company with an order of 3000 EVs.
The semi-truck of Triton contains a battery pack of 300 kW and the truck has the capacity to provide a range of 550 km in a single recharge. The semi-truck has received orders from different automotive industries in India.
Another model of EV which is expected to release by Triton in India is the SUV segment. The Triton SUV model H, the model H SUV looks like a typical American model SUV and has a seating capacity of 8 members.
Triton SUV
The model H SUV has a range of 1,100 km in a single recharge and the EV would reach from 0-60 miles acceleration in less than 3 seconds. The battery pack of the SUV segment also has a hyper charging option which enables the recharge in just 2 hours. Other than the 8 passenger space, the SUV also has a cargo space of around 200 cubic feet.
The Triton EV gives a warranty of up to 10 years for their SUV segment which is not available to any other EV SUV in the market as of now.
The third model of EV that is expected to release is a Sedan model. The sedan model EV is named a model N4. The sedan has an option for short range and long range in which the short range has a km range of up to 540 and the battery would be around 75 kW.
For the long range the sedan model EV would provide a km range of 690 and has a battery of around 100 kW. In order to complete the recharge of up to 80%, the sedan model would take around 8 hours. The sunroof of the EV is made up of a transparent solar panel which helps in powering the on board electronics of the EV and the transparent solar panel helps in charging the N4 sedan as well.
Tesla VS Triton
Triton seems to have attractive EVs under their portfolio and Tesla is nowhere less, however, Tesla does not only sell Electric Vehicles they have a long list of portfolios under them. Moreover, the EVs or Tesla are considered to come under the luxury segment.
However, the move from Triton EV is expected to provide a huge competition to Tesla and we will have to look forward to see whether Triton EV will be able to overpower Elon Musk’s Tesla.
Conclusion
The Government of Telangana has stated that it would provide the required land for the manufacturing facility for Triton EV. The Government also said that it would provide the complete support for the company in order to acquire the necessary approvals for setting up the facility.
FAQ
Who is the founder of Triton EV?
Himanshu Patel is the founder of Triton EV.
Is Triton EV launching in India?
Yes, Triton EV will be launching in India and its first manufacturing plant will be set up in state of Telangana.
The Electric Vehicle industry is expected to boom in the next 5 years in India with a lot of companies coming up with EV vehicles both 2 wheelers and 4 wheelers. Even the global EV giant Tesla has entered into the country. Recently Tata Motors and Tata power have jointly set up a solar carport and are making a mark in the EV infrastructure. Let’s look at how the solar carport is going to benefit the EV industry.
Tata Motors and Tata Power have joined together in order to set up one of the largest grid synchronized, behind the meter solar carport of the county. The carport is located in Pune at the car plant of Tata motors.
The company has said that the 6.2-megawatt carport is the largest solar carport in the country. The project that is developed in the plant of Tata motors will be able to generate around 8.6 million kilowatts of electricity and would reduce an estimated amount of 7,000 tonnes of Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and around 1.6 lakh tonnes over its lifestyle.
The project is spread across 30,000 square meters and can also be used as the parking space for the cars that are manufactured by Tata motors. Even after the crisis faced by the country due to the Coronavirus Pandemic both the companies were able to develop the carport with a record period of 9.5 months.
This carport is expected to be a part of the company’s net zero carbon goals by the year 2039 and Tata motors had entered into a Power Purchase agreement with Tata power in regards to the goals.
Tata Solar Car port
Tata motors on Solar Carport project
Shailesh Chandra who is the President of the Passenger Vehicle Business Unit of Tata Motors had conveyed that, the company has always advocated sustainability in every aspect of our business by checking more meaningful ways to reduce the impact we create on our planet by providing existing products and sustainability solutions to the customers.
He added that the company has always been conscious of the need for energy consumption and is also working towards achieving a 100% renewable source of energy for all the operations.
How Tata Solar Carport project will benefit the EV Industry
The Electric Vehicle industry of the country will be the most benefitted sector from this project. One of the disadvantages of the EVs in the country is the lack of infrastructure and the adaptability and this project is considered to be the first step towards the infrastructure facilities provided for the Electric Vehicle industry.
Tata Motors already have their set of EVs and this will add as an added advantage for their cars. Some of the other advantages are that the Solar carport will reduce the expenses of the company as they will not have to buy the energy from the power supply companies and can generate their own electricity.
Tata Power on its Solar Carport project
Praveer Sinha who is the MD and CEO of Tata Power has conveyed that as one Tata initiative and added that they are proud to partner with Tata motors. He added that the partnership is a proof of our collective efforts in order to reduce the carbon footprint in the society and to provide solutions for the future that are concentrated into the green energy solutions.
He added that the company would focus and continue to explore new ways to generate energy through clean resources and provide them to the customers and their partners.
Tata Power also has a solar powered carport which is the first ever carport in the country that was established in the year 2017 in Delhi. Tata Motors has also committed to shifting to 100 % renewable energy consumption by joining the RE100 initiative. Tata Power also has a solar carport established in the Kochi airport in the year 2018.
FAQ
What is size of Tata solar carport?
The Tata solar car port spans across 30,000 square meters and is located in Chikhali, Pune.
How much electricity will the Tata solar carport project generate?
The project that is developed in the plant of Tata motors will be able to generate around 8.6 million kilowatts of electricity and would reduce an estimated amount of 7,000 tonnes of Carbon dioxide.
Where is the Tata solar carport located?
The carport is located in Chikhali, Pune at the car plant of Tata motors.
The Chinese Smartphone company Xiaomi is reportedly planning to enter into the Electric Vehicle platform. The company which is involved in manufacturing consumer electronics is planning to invest into the Electric Vehicle Industry. Let’s look at this article to understand the plans of Xiaomi about its EV industry.
Xiaomi is a Chinese Multinational company which is headquartered in Beijing. The company was founded in the year 2010. Xiaomi makes and invests in smartphones, laptops, mobile apps, home appliances, bags, shoes, consumer electronics, accessories, and IoT devices.
Xiaomi is the fourth company to develop a mobile system on chip (SoC) capabilities after Apple, Samsung, and Huawei. Xiaomi is the fourth largest mobile manufacturing company in the world. The company has a leading position in the largest market which is China and the second largest market which is India.
Xiaomi planning to enter Electric Vehicle market
Xiaomi has plans to be part of the Electric Vehicle market. Xiaomi has confirmed its intention to invest $10 billion in its own subsidiary firm which is completely owned by Xiaomi. They had confirmed their intentions at the Mi MIX Fold Global Launch Event.
The initial investments according to the confirmation stand at CNY 10 billion. The founder and CEO Lei Jun is expected to lead the Electric Car project of the company for the time being. Xiaomi has not revealed any information about the products they plan to introduce or work on in the Electric Vehicle segment of the company.
There are no announcements regarding their projects and no information about the company’s launch plans. Xiaomi has said that they want to work on providing quality electric vehicles which would let everyone in the world to enjoy smart living anytime and anywhere.
Top selling light duty plug-in Electric vehicle global market
Xiaomi’s EV Investments
According to the report by Chinese media LatePost Xiaomi’s entry into the EV market to manufacture Electric cars was taken after considering it for years. They have also said that the company’s plans are just in the early stages and it might change in the future as well.
The report has also said that in the year 2018 Xiaomi had launched an early project in the electric vehicle segment called Mi car to explore the electric car making industry. It is said that the CEO of Xiaomi Lei Jun had visited Elon Musk who is the CEO of Tesla in 2013 twice.
Xiaomi has also made a mark in the Chinese Electric Vehicle segment by investing in Xpeng motors which delivered around 27,041 vehicles in the year 2020. They have also invested in NIO which is also a Chinese homegrown Electric Vehicle maker.
China’s Electric Vehicle market
China’s Electric Vehicle market has seen a significant growth in the recent years. It has attracted a lot of high-profile companies ranging from traditional automobile companies to internet companies.
According to a research by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, In the year 2020, the country saw an increase in the sales of EV which accounted for 1.37 million. There is an increase in the sales of up to 11% year-on-year.
China based automaker Greely auto has said that it is planning to focus more on to the Electric Vehicle segment. The founder and Chairman of the company Li Shufu have announced that the company has plans to shift 90 percent of its production to hybrid Electric vehicles and is also planning to set up a new factory for New Energy Vehicles.
The growth of the Chinese Electric Vehicle market has come after the multiple policy campaigns which are to promote carbon reduction which includes the plans to reach carbon neutrality by 2060.
Other Players in Electric vehicle market
Earlier, Huawei had announced its plans to enter into the manufacturing of Electric Vehicles. There were several speculations through various news reports which had suggested that the company had approached China’s Changan Automobile, BluePark New Energy Technology, and other players in the industry. Huawei has plans to concentrate on developing smart bits and to let the car manufacturers provide car parts.
From the western world, there has been a lot of rumors of Apple entering into the Electric Vehicle segment. It is said that the iPhone manufacturer is working on an electric vehicle of its own. The company is focusing on building the autonomous tech, battery, and the technical parts of the car and would require another partner from the automobile sector to work on the rest of the parts of the car.
FAQ
Which is the cheapest electric car?
Smart EQ Fortwo EV is one the cheapest electric car.
What are the 3 types of electric cars?
Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs), Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs), and Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) are the 3 types of electric cars.
Who is the CEO of Xiaomi?
Lei Jun is the current CEO of Xiaomi.
Conclusion
Compared to Apple and Huawei, Mi has still not announced any of its plans for its products or the launch. We will have to wait for any more news regarding the Chinese smartphone manufacturer’s entry into the Electric Vehicle Segment.
In 2020 the Transport Minister, Nitin Gadkari had announced that the U.S based Electric Vehicle company Tesla would enter in India. He told that in the beginning they would try to sell some cars and depending on the response of the sales they would start their R&D center in India.
After several years of delay, Tesla finally entered in India. On 12 January 2021, the company officially announced its arrival. They have registered in Bangalore, Karnataka by Tesla’s registrar of companies (Roc). The company’s registered name is Tesla India Motors and Energy private Limited. It is considered as a foreign subsidiary registered in India.
The Chief Minister of Karnataka, B.S Yediyurappa tweeted happily and gave a warm welcome. But there are reasons as to why the company chose Bangalore to set up its R&D center.
Bangalore has a collection of technical and R&D centers. It accounts for more than a dozen automotive companies in the country. Bangalore has operational R&D units of automotive brands such as Mercedes-Benz, General Motors, Great Wall Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Continental, Bosch, Volvo, and Delphi.
Bangalore has a lot of electric vehicle startups as well. The Karnataka Government states that there are more than 45 electric vehicle startups that are based in Bangalore. Startups like Ather Energy, Mahindra Electric, Ultraviolette Automotive are mostly concentrated on the two-wheeler segment.
Ola Electric which announced recently that it is going to enter into the automotive sector is also based in Bangalore. Since there are a lot of technical and R&D units of the biggest companies and electric vehicle startups, Tesla would have chosen Bengaluru as its manufacturing unit.
Bangalore is known as the IT Hub, the district has headquarters of companies like Infosys, Wipro, Accenture, TCS, and many more. Bengaluru has around 3,00,000 IT students studying in various colleges across the country.
Tesla will be able to benefit from the huge talented IT and engineering graduates in Bangalore. Automotive companies have used the Indian R&D centers to work on projects not only for India but even projects for other countries including China, Europe, and the U.S.
Software Engineers are working with Mercedes Benz in projects such as developing driverless cars. Great Wall Motors, the Chinese company has set up its R&D center in Bangalore, to work on their Electric Vehicles.
Automotive brands have already set up and are using the talent of Karnataka’s Capital. They have seen the outcome over the years. Tesla would also have foreseen the IT and the engineering talent available in Bangalore, being one of the reasons to set up its unit in Karnataka’s capital.
Other than a home for the major automotive companies, the state has certain policies. The policies act as one of the major reasons for Tesla to set up its unit in Bangalore.
Karnataka is concentrating on setting up an Electric Vehicle Hub in the State. It has allocated around $3 Billion (around 219 crores) for setting up an electric vehicle hub, lithium-ion cell, and battery manufacturing unit which includes Electric vehicle manufacturing bases in Hubbali and Dharwad. It is 400 km from Bangalore.
Karnataka had approved a new policy in 2017 which is the “Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy”. The state aims to create around 55,000 employment and attract investment of Rs 31,000 crore. To reduce dependency on fossil fuels and reduce its carbon footprint, the union government has unveiled its vision to make the country an all-electric vehicle market by the year 2031.
The state also provides a lot of incentives for setting up Electric Vehicle plants. It provides incentives such as reimbursement of land conversion fees, an investment promotion subsidy, 100 percent exemption on stamp duty, and many more. This would be the greatest advantage for Tesla. It must have been the easiest way to enter the country.
FAQ
Who is Tesla’s biggest competitor?
The Chinese EV maker Nio is one of Tesla’s biggest competitor.
Who sells the most electric cars in the world?
Tesla sells the most electric cars in the world.
What is the Valuation of Tesla?
The US Electric car maker Tesla is worth about $700 billion as of 2020.
What is the world’s most popular electric car?
Tesla Model 3 is the world’s most popular electric car.
Conclusion
In 2018, Elon Musk the CEO of the company had said that certain government regulations are making it hard for them to enter the country. He also mentioned that the company required 30% of some raw material to be available locally for manufacturing and India lacked these. But, now different automobile industries are setting up their plants and companies in India, also Apple have started their manufacturing unit in India.
Elon Musk has a huge number of fans in India and he is moreover known as the real Tony Stark. This shows that the company has huge potential in the country.
The coming decade is expected to be the decade of the fully electric car. The International Energy Agency cites that by 2020 up to 20 million electric vehicles will ply the road, a number that is expected to go up to 70 million by 2025. India has a lot to gain from the widespread adoption of e-mobility. Electrification will help reduce vehicular emissions, a key contributor to air pollution which causes an average 3% GDP loss every year. The National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020 and Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme were both announced in aspiration of an electric-only future for automobiles by 2030. Starting an Electric Vehicle (EV) charging station will be very much profitable also as the demand for an electric vehicle is increasing the necessity of charging stations will be very much useful.
India’s electric vehicle market is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 37%, during FY2018-FY2023. India can play a lead role in it by switching over the EV mobility to ensure a greener and cleaner ecology. Under the Make In India program, the manufacturing of e-vehicles and their associated components is expected to increase the share of manufacturing in India’s GDP to 25% by 2022.
How To Start A Public EV Charging Station Business
Benefits of Buying an EV (Electric Car) in India
Low maintenance costs – The main reason why people buy an EV is the maintenance cost. An internal combustion engine car has more mechanical parts, hence, more complexities and difficult to maintain. EVs are easy and cheaper to maintain because of their simple structure and operations.
Little to no sound – Another benefit that an EV can deliver is the silent functioning capability. No engine’s why there is no noise as well. EV can always provide you with a more comfortable ride because of its completely silent operation.
Low running costs – Another major advantage that EVs deliver over conventional IC engine cars is the running cost.
NO more fuel price hikes – When you buy an EV you will no longer have to worry about the daily variation of petrol and diesel prices. While the government changes the fuel price depending upon the global prices, you will no longer have to worry because you don’t need fuel anymore.
Convenient charging at home – you may face a huge crowd at the fuel stations during peak hours. EVs are a major advantage in this case where you can simply plug in your vehicle at your home for 4-5 hours and you are ready to move again without any delay. EVs are nowadays also come with charging capabilities which allows them to charge within 60 mins.
Easy to drive – EVs are an absolute pleasure to drive because you don’t have to operate the gear mechanisms. You only have to use a set of buttons that will increase or decrease the speed.
Environment friendly – buying an EV is good for environment, they have no emmisions and very low carbon footprint. EVs are now the most eco-friendly modes of transport available in the market.
Comfortable cabin and more storage options – In an EV the space utilization ratio is higher than a normal vehicle. This is because the transmission gets simpler and the motor which replaces the engine occupies less space.
Government incentives – The benefits of buying are not limited to the vehicle itself. Government wants you to buy an EV and provides significant deductibles compared to a normal car.
EVs are future proof – Fossil fuels are getting old and scarce. It isn’t a clean energy source. Electricity, at present is generated from fossil fuels, but we are moving towards renewable sources of energy in the future. We have made significant strides in fields of solar and wind energy. We can probably hope for a completely renewable and pollutionless energy source.
Projected Electric Vehicle Sales
Requirements for EV Public Charging Station (PSA) Installation
Parking space for electric cars
No fewer than five ISO-certified charging machines ( the table below is a detailed representation of the required machines)
Charger Types
Charger Connectors
Rated Voltage
Number of Charging Points
Fast
CCS(min 50 kW)
200-1000 V
1/1 CG
CHAdeMO(min 50 KW)
200-1000 V
1/1 CG
Type-2 AC (min 22 KW)
380-480 V
1/1 CG
Slow/Moderate
Bharat DC-001(15KW)
72-200 V
1/1 CG
Bharat AC-001
230 V
3/3 CG of 3.3 KW each
Space for the charging machines
One transformer
Cable transmission
The area where charging stations are assigned must be safe and secure
Has at least 5 charging machines
Types of Vehicles for PSAs
You can charge 2 wheelers, 3 wheelers, 4 wheelers, buses, and other heavy vehicles. But the basic requirement is to have space for parking vehicles which come for charging. Generally, the three first types of vehicles are easier to charge in comparison, since the former requires less space for parking.
Buses or other heavy-duty electric vehicles need a large space for charging and also require the following requirements:
At least two chargers of a minimum 100 KW, each of different specifications (CSS, CHAdeMO) is necessary to install.
Appropriate Liquid Cooled Cables in high-speed charging facility for Fluid Cooled Batteries’ onboard charging
On FCS(Fast Charging Stations) for heavy electric vehicles, it must have battery swapping facilities for meeting the requirements of the charging station
Maintenance Top EV Charging Solution providers in India
Required Locations of PCSs
At least one charging station must be installed in a 3×3-kilometer grid.
One charging station must be set up every 25 kilometers on highways/roads’ both sides.
For long-range and heavy EVs, one Fast Charging Station should also be available on each side of the highways.
In cities, charging stations should be located within Transport Nagars and bus depots.
The appropriate authorities (State/Central/UTs) can also give priority to the current retail outlets (ROs) of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) in the permission to install of PCSs.
India Electric Car Market
The Indian electric car market size was valued at $71.1 million in 2017 and is projected to reach $707.4 million by 2025, witnessing a CAGR of 34.5% during the forecast period. Government schemes and subsidies are playing a major role in the growth of the market.
Based on technology, the Indian electric car market has been categorized into battery electric vehicles (BEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). BEV category held the largest share in the Indian market, contributing over 70% sales volume in 2017.
Based on battery, the Indian electric car market has been classified:
LFP battery-based electric car was the largest category in the market, contributing over 65% sales volume in 2017, owing to the benefits such as high current rating, thermal stability and safety levels, and long cycle life.
Conclusion
Union road transport & highways minister Nitin Gadkari reaffirmed India’s potential to become a major manufacturing hub for electric vehicles in the next five years. He said the world is no more interested in doing business with China, which is a very good opportunity for the Indian industry to pick up the shift in business.
Alan Joseph
