Need for Fast adoption of Electric Vehicles

The persistent rise in petrol & diesel prices has hit the transport sector very hard, especially the taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers. Lately the rise in fuel prices has forced many of them to sell off their vehicles and switch their businesses. The price of petrol & diesel is rising every now and then. Even after the rise in auto-rickshaw fare in the cities, the drivers don’t make enough earning even after they have to do more trips to earn more.

Rising prices of fuel since June 2020 has necessitated switching over to EV’s thus creating a new space in the automobile sector. The country is witnessing sporadic hike in fuel prices, which is pushing people to look for cheaper mobility solutions. Electric vehicles are a potential low-cost alternative that needs to get a grip in the current scenario of rising cost of petrol and diesel. EV’s are increasingly proving to be operationally cheaper for their owners than petrol and diesel vehicles notwithstanding the high initial cost. It is comparatively better option for the transportation sector as it is environmentally friendly and do not emit any carbon emissions. A typical electric car costs almost 40% more than its equivalent petrol car. However, an electric vehicle provides huge savings in its daily operations. In addition to lower fuel cost, lower maintenance and repair costs, EV’s are almost one third cheaper than the petrol vehicle considering 10-15 years of operation life. As the prices of petrol and diesel continue to soar, demand of EV’s is expected to increase tremendously and EV’s are destined to be commercially more viable in three to five years period.

The Government of India has introduced subsidies and exemptions for EVs and an increasing number of state governments are formulating policies designed to accelerate EV adoption. Banks are also creating dedicated low-interest ‘green loans’ to help their customers to make the switch. Vehicle batteries which are recognized as the most expensive unit of EVs are becoming cheaper every year. These developments indicate EVs becoming more affordable than fuel-based vehicles. EVs will be far cheaper on the pocket in the longer-run.

Adoption of Electric Vehicles on a large scale also requires setting up of a comprehensive charging network and battery swapping stations in the cities and on the National Highways/Expressways. Presently, the charging infrastructure is at a takeoff stage and needs to be taken up in a fast mode. The requisite charging/battery swapping facilities will instill confidence in the Electric Vehicle users.

The reluctance by Electric Vehicle user is mainly on account of high initial cost of the vehicle and inadequate charging facilities in the public domain. The Government of India and State Government need to act proactively to bring down the initial cost of the vehicle inter alia by reducing duties and by providing subsidies to the users. These governments also have to act proactively for facilitating setting up comprehensive network of charging stations/battery swapping stations. 

There are multiple startups and companies who have entered into this space to provide EV charging deployment services. EVI Technologies is a known name in EV space in designing and creating charging Infrastructure for EV users at PAN India. The priority of EV customer should be on top to get the EV charger at his doorstep with hassle free single point window (SPW) registration process including subsidized electricity connection on buying a new EV, a spokesperson from the startup said. SPW process would help individuals to move to electric sector faster.

By making the shift towards electric Vehicles, our country stands to benefit on many fronts;

Lower running cost of EV including the price of fuel and running cost. EVs use electricity to charge batteries so the monthly running cost is a fraction of the cost of petrol or diesel and running cost of electric motor is much less than the petrol / diesel engine.

Cleaner environment is another factor for many buyers, the zero-carbon emission and reduction in air pollution with EVs.

All these factors highlight that EVs are a better option than the conventional fuel-based vehicles. Therefore, it is expeditiously creating a desired space in the transportation sector. It is the beginning now and after a few years, it is very likely that more than half of the population will be using electric vehicles that will additionally help in saving our environment.