Electric Mobility

As conflict intensifies between Iran, Israel, and the US, India finds itself in a  fix. With nearly 90% of its crude oil imported, India’s vulnerability to disruptions in West Asia has reached a critical tipping point.

India’s EV trajectory is growing rapidly. It is being supported by a significant surge in capital, attracting approximately ₹2.23 lakh crore in realized investments between 2020 and 2025. However, a new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) warns that this is only 18% of the ₹12.5 lakh crore required to meet India’s 2030 electrification targets.

Delhi will now have to look at systematic reforms rather than incentives-led policies that risk slowing the EV transition for the next phase of the capital’s EV policy, experts noted. Delhi has been India’s earliest adopter of electric vehicles (EVs).

Chinese firms have pledged at least $227 billion across green manufacturing projects, with 80% of the investments coming in after 2022. A new report titled “China’s Green Leap Outward: The rapid scale-up of overseas Chinese clean-tech manufacturing investments” by Net Zero Industrial Policy said that since 2021, the country has invested in battery materials, full battery plants, EVs, charging equipment, wind, and early-stage green hydrogen.

Renewable energy and electric vehicles are both growing in India. Aligning both can result in genuine emission reduction. Following the National Electricity Plan (NEP-14), if India is able to achieve its renewable capacity ambitions by 2032

In 2021, at Glasgow Climate Summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced India’s goal of achieving net-zero by 2070. As a consequence, the country has spurred into action to quicken its pace on putting EVs on the road. It has resolved that by 2030 at least 30% of passenger cars, 70 % of commercial vehicles and 80% of two- and three-wheelers on its roads would be electric.

Last December, during a side event at COP28 hosted at the Indian Pavilion, officials from the US and India shared plans for a joint finance mechanism to roll out 50,000 electric buses in India by 2027. The government is also working on a plan to set up a de-risking fund to boost electric bus mobility.

A new report by global corporate watchdog Ekō claimed Toyota made false green claims targeting its customers through misleading marketing on 25 official Toyota websites in 23 countries, spanning a number of languages.

India is at the cusp of a monumental shift in its automotive landscape, with the electrification of vehicles becoming increasingly prevalent. As the CEO of Revfin, a leading player in the Indian finance sector, I have closely observed the evolution of the electric vehicle (EV) industry and its financing ecosystem.

The collaboration between the Ministry of Mines, state-owned Khanij Bidesh India (KABIL) and Australia’s Critical Minerals Office to secure supplies of critical minerals has met with some success. The Australian authorities identified at least five mines of lithium and cobalt for India, the Times of India reported.

The Centre has approved around a ₹580 billion ($7 billion) scheme to deploy 10,000 electric buses in 169 cities by 2033 along with charging and associated infrastructure facilities, Reuters reported. The government will fund ₹ 200 billion of the cost of the scheme, based on a public-private partnership model.

According to Indian Express, the government rejected a $1 billion investment proposal from the Chinese manufacturer of electric vehicles BYD and its Hyderabad-based partner Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL) to build a factory for producing electric vehicles.

The battery swapping policy released by Niti Aayog in April last year has been stalled following opposition from the industry over interoperability standards stated in the draft scheme. The policy aimed to make charging EVs as quick as refuelling conventional vehicles. Now, a highly “watered down” version of the scheme is being considered, reported the Economic Times.

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk and Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the car maker making a “significant investment” in the country, Reuters reported. Musk said that India has strong potential for a sustainable energy future including solar power, stationary battery packs and electric vehicles. He also said that he’s confident that Tesla will be in India “as soon as humanly possible”.

On account of pre-buying before price rise from 1st June, the electric 2-wheeler high-speed scooter registrations in May 2023 surged 148% year-on-year and 57% month-on-month to 1,04,771 units while overall e-2W grew 11%  year-on-year and 21% month-on-month. According to the Economic Times, compared to April 2023, when EV 2W penetration stood at 5.4%, the figure rose to 7% in May.