Electric vehicles are the newest entrant to the world of Mobility. In an attempt to go green and protect
our beautiful planet, we see the lion’s share of attention being given to the field of electric vehicles and related tech globally, and in India.
India, being the fifth-largest automobile market technology in the world is currently land to 320 million vehicles, out of which more than 97 percent are ICE ones. In the Financial Year (FY) 2020-21, out of the 28 lakh units of passenger vehicles sold, 5,900 units were electric. While the two-wheeler vehicles sales were 152 lakhs units out of which only 1.41 lakh units were electric.
Yes, the number isn’t as huge as we would like it to be, but the statistics show that this turtle-speed growth of EV adoption is mainly due to a lack of infrastructure around the EV space, which the government is actively looking to resolve.
But what exactly is the government doing? And where are the private players at?
GOVERNMENT
The Government of India is continuously showing its support to develop India as a global leader in the
EV sector. It has proposed several reforms to increase the market penetration of EVs in India.
Let’s look at the reforms that concern the EV charging infrastructure one by one.
The government of India has launched so far – FAME, FAME-II, PLI, Battery Swapping Policy, Special Electric Mobility Zone, and Tax Reduction on EVs.
• Under FAME-, 427 charging stations were established in different cities of India. This
number also includes charging stations established on some well-known highways connecting major cities.
• Under FAME-1I, 2,877 stations have been sanctioned with the target of PAN India
coverage. The top 5 states (Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujrat, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya
Pradesh) have been allocated with ~48% of total charging stations under FAME-Il. Effective
implementation of these charging stations is likely to positively impact consumer sentiments
towards apprehensions about charging vehicles and range anxiety.
Furthermore, the Government has declared setting up a PCS (public charging station) as a de-
licensed activity and has allowed private charging at residences and offices.
• The PLI-ACC Scheme is one of thirteen initiatives approved by the Union Government to help
the Prime Minister achieve his goal of “Atmanirbhar Bharat.” Its goal is to attract both domestic
and international investors to invest in India’s Giga scale ACC manufacturing facilities. The
total payout under the scheme is INR 18,100 crore.
• The Finance Minister stated that the government intends to introduce a Battery Swapping
Policy. This scheme will standardize the standards of batteries to be used in EVs across India.
The legislation will help in promoting EVs in time-sensitive service sectors like deliveries and inter-
city transportation as swapping a drained battery for a fully charged one is a more practical option
than on-the-spot recharging, which can take hours. This will make interoperability easy. If all the
batteries are of the same configuration for all the same categories of EV, buyers need not worry while
swapping their batteries and be concerned about the configuration of new batteries being put.
If performed well, battery switching is expected to achieve acceptance in commercial applications such
as 2W and 3W vehicles and will aid faster penetration in these segments.
• The government intends to create electric vehicle mobility zones. Only electric vehicles or
comparable vehicles will be permitted to operate in the administration-designated zones. Such
policies are common in many European countries as well as China. The unspoken benefit of
special electric mobility zones is that they will help to reduce overcrowding caused by private
vehicles. People passing through these zones must travel in their own EVs or take a public EV
vehicle, increasing the market share of EVs.
PRIVATE PLAYERS
• Tata Pöwer has joined hands with HPCL to set up EV charging stations at its Petrol Pumps
across the country. Partnered with Tata Motors to set up 300 fast-charging stations across
Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Bangalore, and Hyderabad.
• Yulu has created around 500 stations across Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi NCR regions by
the middle of 2022. These stations are strategically located in areas of high movement density,
making EVs a convenient and practical mobility solution.
• Ola Electric plans to build the world’s largest EV hub in India for Rs 7,610 crores.
And then there are Emerging players like us who have also risen to the occasion to help this country
become the cleanest it can ever be. Electricpe, founded in 2021 has been able to set up 100,000 charging
points across 3 cities and today is India’s leading EV charging platform.
Overall, charging infrastructure development must accelerate in order to increase consumer confidence
in EVs, particularly for personal use.
The growth of the development of EV infrastructure is slow, but steady. Here’s what we’ve been able
to achieve-
• 25+ States have notified or drafted state Electric Vehicle policies.
• 7,59,182 Electric Vehicles have been registered till today.
• 380 Electric Vehicle manufacturers operate in India.
• 1800 Electric Vehicle Charging Stations have already been installed.
and wait for it… 2656.62 Kilo tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions have been reduced. (YAY!)
India sees 133% growth in Electric Vehicle sales from FY15 to FY20 and is taking baby steps in the
right direction. Hopefully, with the help of the government and the hustle of our private players, our
mission of no emissions will be a reality soon.