The Electric future of India

The future of automobiles is electric.

With all the positives, EVs are yet to instill confidence in prospective Indian buyers. A paradigm shift from conventional ICE vehicles requires a different approach in India as compared to the west. For India, the first step is to build Robust (to meet the geographical, environmental, semi-professional driving behaviors in India) and Cheap (to meet the extremely price-sensitive market) electric vehicles.

With developments in EV technology, electric cars are expected to be as cheap as fuel-powered cars in the foreseeable future. The core challenge is developing quality batteries that are long-lasting, safe, and can store a lot of energy. From the Indian perspective, the following factors greatly affect the actual cost of battery/kWh:

• Battery Lifecycle

• Capital Cost

• Number of times battery is charged/discharged per day

Batteries are also affected by temperature (above and below 25 degrees hurt battery life). The battery market is dominated by lead-acid, and more recently, lithium-ion variants, however, there are several new technologies being tested that have much higher energy density - graphene, aluminum air, sodium air, fuel cells, etc.

Innovations to make the vehicles lighter, competent batteries, and manufacturing drivetrains that are cost-effective, can withstand environmental and usage abuse, and are easily serviceable are being rapidly undertaken in India.

The EV industry is one of the most exciting, significant, and necessary areas of innovation today.

Responding to the opportunities in India’s EV, companies like OLA Electric Mobility Pvt, Ather Energy, and Mahindra Electrics are rapidly growing their market presence. Tesla Inc. also marked its entry into India by incorporating its subsidiary, Tesla India Motors and Energy Pvt Ltd, in Bengaluru. The government of India is also rolling out incentives to boost market demand.

Conclusively, electric vehicles are the future of India.