World EV Day 2021: India evolving as favourite Electric Vehicle market
World EV Day is observed on September 9 every year. The day marks the celebration of e-mobility. Special awareness campaigns are organised globally to educate people about the benefits of electric vehicles.
World EV Day was an initiative created by sustainability media company Green.TV. The first World EV day was observed in 2020. It was largely a social media campaign that encouraged drivers to recognise the benefits of electric vehicles and make a commitment that the next car they drive will be electric and not run on conventional fuels.
World EV Day works alongside Green.TV’s EV Summit. It brings the world’s e-mobility leaders together to brainstorm on how to take electrification and sustainable transport forwards.
While China is the largest EV market in the world, India is emerging as the next favourite destination for automotive companies. The government has promised to offer all possible help to take the electric vehicle industry forward. Notably, India's automotive industry is the fifth largest in the world. It is set to become the third largest by 2030.
The country is already making efforts to shift towards electric vehicles. Recently, world's leading electric vehicle and clean energy company Tesla announced its entry into India. The American giant has incorporated its subsidiary -- Tesla India Motors and Energy Pvt Ltd, in Bengaluru.
“The Indian EV market has been experiencing exponential growth for the past couple of years. Government policies such as FAME-II and stringent regulation on fuel efficiency and emissions, coupled with increased customer demand, have enabled the market for electrified vehicles to boom," S Venkat, director, Automotive Business, SKF India, said.
"EV adoption will see a massive rise in the coming few years as consumers are getting more and more conscious about the environmental impact of fossil fuel-based vehicles. Additionally, rising fuel prices along with incentives provided by governments have made the option of choosing an EV a financially wiser decision," Manish Narang, Co-Founder, EV Plugs, said.
Japan-based Suzuki has already declared that it will launch its first EV in India. Another homegrown automotive major Tata Motors has plans to launch 10 electric cars by 2025. It currently has two vehicles Nexon SUV and Tigor sedan in the EV segment. The company has sold over 4,000 units of Nexon EV units since its launch last year. It launched the Tigor EV last month.
Another indigenous automobile company Mahindra & Mahindra is also venturing into the EV segment. The company will invest Rs 3,000 crore in its electric vehicles business in the next three years. It has plans to put 5 lakh electric vehicles on the roads by 2025.
Other companies like Hero Moto Corp, Bajaj Auto, TVS Motor are also eyeing an upward tick in the EV industry. While Hero Moto has signed a deal with Gogoro (a Taiwanese battery-swapping refueling company for electric two-wheelers), Bajaj Auto has established a subsidiary to make EVs.
TVS Motor has said that it will increase spending by 33 per cent for FY22 to boost the manufacturing capacity.
Samarth Kholkar co-founder of BLive, a multi EV retail and experiential tourism platform, said that the EV market will see great demand and action in the upcoming months on the back of supportive government policies that promote clean mobility
“2021 will go down as the year of the EV revolution in history. There's massive growth in the Indian EV market, led by Electric 2 Wheeler. There are several promising brands in the market that are working on E2W models that withstand all the mobility challenges in India. Companies are also collaborating to address all the pain points in the EV segment," Samarth said.
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