As one of the largest and the second most populated country in the world, India has been making several high-impact strategic moves towards adoption of electric mobility.
By: Varun Goenka, Co-Founder and CEO, Chargeup
Environmental pollution is one of the biggest issues faced by the world today. As one of the largest and the second most populated country in the world, India has been making several high-impact strategic moves towards adoption of electric mobility. Electric vehicles (EVs) are now being seen as the most practical and clean modes of transportation, and there is a global effort underway to steadily increase their numbers on the roads. However, for the billions of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles fuelled by petroleum, there are some challenges that need to be overcome.
Price Performance – EVs are significantly more expensive than the ICE vehicles. Considering the fact that public transportation constitutes the bulk of commute in India, it is essential that EVs are profitable for fleet owners. If an EV continues to be bound by range limits due to its battery charging needs, then it is unlikely to generate adequate revenue that would make the fleet owners switch from fossil fuel vehicles.
Range anxiety – People have not yet adopted EVs wholeheartedly, primarily because they are widely seen as tethered vehicles that can be operated within the vicinity of the charging point. Once an EV battery is discharged, it takes several hours to replenish, and for any commercial fleet, that would signify the end of day’s operations. Even if we consider fast charging, there is still a need to park it. In the absence of charging stations on highways or outside the metro cities, this need to plug-in and charge is likely to keep EV adoption low in the near future. That’s where battery swapping can be a win-win solution for all stakeholders. It will eliminate the need for long hours of charging or the battery running out.
Battery Swapping: the best foot forward
The Government of India has been well-versed with the benefits of battery swapping when it comes to eliminating the above challenges, and turning India into an EV nation. First of all, it is a highly efficient option as battery swapping takes barely a few minutes compared to the hours that typical battery charging process requires. By building battery swapping stations across the country, it is possible to keep EVs running long distances and improving their price-performance ratio to make them profitable for transport companies. For instance, the e-rickshaw segment in India has been one of the early adopters of battery swapping processes.
It has been found that e-rickshaws opting for battery swapping have been able to significantly enhance their operational range and almost double the daily revenue generation. Apart from that, a major portion of the maintenance costs of EVs is spent on battery management and replacement. However, under the battery swapping system, the cost of purchasing or managing the batteries is handled by the swapping service provider, and the vehicle owners need to only pay-per-swap. When they buy EVs without the battery, the vehicle upfront cost is much lower, and annual maintenance becomes more affordable. That enables the EV owners to break-even in a much shorter timeframe and commercial profitability proves to be almost at par with the ICE engines, but with no harmful emissions.
With the surge in last-mile delivery services, the integration of EVs in logistics can unlock tremendous value when supported by easily accessible network of battery swapping stations. In the Union Budget 2022, the government has identified battery swapping as one of the primary channels to drive EV adoption in India. The government has envisaged supporting of businesses that set up EV battery swapping stations, and setting up of exclusive zones where non-electric vehicles will not be allowed to operate. Through public-private partnerships, and making EV sector a priority lending segment for the public sector banks, building of infrastructure can be expedited. The government must take steps to finance EVs and batteries as well as to lower the GST on batteries purchased separately.
We have seen how sectors that are declared as priority lending areas witness major growth, and now is time to power the electric vehicles in the same manner. Today, India stands at the cusp of becoming the leading EV nation in the world, and the opportunity must be converted into reality through a concerted effort by all stakeholders!
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the original author. These views and opinions do not represent those of The Indian Express Group or its employees.
