World EV Day 2022: EV manufacturers expect demand to grow on increasing awareness, govt support

Electric vehicle manufacturers expect demand to grow multi-fold going ahead with increasing customers' awareness on eco-friendly mobility, backed by the government's support for EV adoption.

Ahead of World EV Day, the manufacturers also stressed the need to offer better performing vehicles, designed and developed to meet specific customer requirements.

"India will see a huge demand for EVs going forward as customers are increasingly becoming aware of environmentally-friendly mobility solutions and the government is laying the foundation for EV adoption," Kia India Chief Sales Officer Myung-sik Sohn said in a statement.

Ather Energy co-founder and CEO Tarun Mehta said the transition to sustainable modes of transportation has begun well, largely led by electric two-wheelers and EVs are the single biggest hope for achieving a decarbonised world and faster adoption of EVs is the first step towards this goal.

"The rising demand makes it quite clear that consumers are open to shift to EVs from ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles and the industry needs to support this by offering better performing electric vehicles," Mehta asserted.

Motovolt Founder & CEO Tushar Choudhary said a lot of major cities across the world are discovering that one of the key components of sustainable mobility is the adoption of electric commuting by the masses.

"This is where it is critical to create a diversity of options that include large shared vehicles, such as trains and electric buses and cars and smaller vehicles, electric 2-wheelers, and e-bicycles," he added.

Mahindra Electric Mobility Ltd CEO Suman Mishra said the company is committed to promoting sustainable motoring with zero-emission products.

At present, it is estimated that EVs account for nearly 1 per cent of total vehicle sales in India and studies have projected that by 2030 it would increase to around 30 per cent. According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, total vehicle sales in India in 2021-22 stood at 1,75,13,596 units, down from 1,86,20,233 units in 2020-21.

Other players involved in the EV ecosystem, such as charging infrastructure and battery swapping service providers, are bullish on the shift towards electric mobility.

Chargeup founder and Chief Driving Officer Varun Goenka said with the right initiatives like the battery safety guidelines that will come into effect from October and the highly anticipated draft Battery Swapping Policy will help get closer to an eco-friendly ecosystem for the future of mobility.

"There are certain technical and operational processes and challenges that need to be ironed out, but it is our firm belief that a lot of progress is being made in the right direction," he added.

SKF Group (India & South East Asia) Director Automotive Business Venkat S said rising fuel prices, surging ownership cost of ICE vehicles, and policies like the PLI and FAME have been instrumental in shaping the EV market in India.

"EV drivetrains today are placing new demand on components, such as bearings, and SKF is playing a transformational role in the industry," he added.

Car rental and subscription platform Myles Car founder Sakshi Vij said offering EVs on a subscription model without a down payment and additional maintenance or insurance costs with no danger of residual value has helped in overcoming the hurdle of high upfront prices of EV acquisition.

"EVs account for 40 per cent of our subscription demand and 40 per cent of the vehicles in our fleet are electric vehicles, and we plan to increase this percentage," she added.