Electric Mobility Conference 2020 : FICCI | Nitin Gadkari & Industry discussion

Compiled by Team PluginIndia
​Electric Vehicle News

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) organized a virtual electric mobility conference with the focus on state of Karnataka. There was a keynote from Mr Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport & Highways and the Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the Government of India. There were comments from Mr Chetan Maini, Co-Founder, Vice Chairman at SUN Mobility, Mr Pawan Goenka, Managing Director of Mahindra and Mahindra Limited and others. This article documents the salient points raised in the event.

Mr Nitin Gadkari
Minister for Road Transport & Highways and the Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the Government of India. 

• Import of petrol and crude is a big problem for India.
• Another problem is air pollution.
• These are the two big concerns. We need to find way out and solutions.
• Transport consumes 18% of energy needs and 70% energy demand is fulfilled on imported oil , which puts a huge burden on India’s economy.
• Transport contributes 94% pollution and growing pollution will result in more demand for vehicles.
• 22 Green Express Highways will be made, which will encourage more OEMs to create vehicles.
• Regarding the Paris climate agreement, India has pledged to reduce emissions by 25% and is on target.
• India is power surplus nation and electric mobility is perfect for India.
• Adoption of EV's are widely accepted globally. 
• EV numbers will increase and the cost will also come down.
• Request all manufacturers to reduce the cost of Electric Vehicles. Without numbers, u cant get economic viability. Please find a solution for that. It’s very important.
• Objectives of government policy are to promote and support EV industry.  Two and Three wheelers are the main objective. 
• If OEMS make a good quality electric vehicle there is huge potential for exports .
• I’m confident India will become number 1 manufacturer of Electric vehicles.
• India has potential to also become largest EV market. 
• India needs Lithium Cells of 10 GWhs capacity by 2022 and need to expand by 50 GWhs. I would request big OEMS to think about manufacturing cells in India
• Indian power system has grown and we are power surplus and we are capable of shifting to EV's in large scale.
• Pilot project on Delhi-Mumbai corridor have started by creating electric Highways.
• Ministry of road and highway have amended Motor Vehicle act. All regulation for EV's are in place.
• Ministry has also specified of kits to convert cars to electric or hybrid. 
  • ​Indian OEMs need to focus and launch more Electric Vehicles. There is a huge demand.
  • We ask Mr Goenka to launch more Electric Tractors and Vehicles. But they launch only Diesel ones!
• GST has reduced to 5% from 12%
• 20,000 EVs will be used for government use
• We are also looking to encourage Electric Buses
  
  • Delhi - Jaipur and Mumbai - Pune we good places for inter city buses
• Various states like Delhi, KA, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and other states are offering incentives for consumers and manufacturers for Electric Vehicles
• We need India to be manufacturing hub within 5 years.

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Dr Pawan Goenka
Managing Director of Mahindra and Mahindra Limited

• Karnataka (KA) state had taken a lead in Electric Vehicles. First state to announce EV policy with target to get 31,000 CR with ambitious electrification target. Very progressive and aggressive policy in 2017.
• BMTC has added 500 electric buses. 
• 85 out of 625 EV startups are registered in Bengaluru 
• Mahindra Electric has Bengaluru has its headquarters.
• The Mahindra Treo 3-Wheeler - India’s first Li-Ion based 3 wheeler is made in Bengaluru.
• ​500 CR investment for Global RnD center dedicated to electric mobility
• KA state has potential to cross 1 million Electric vehicles in India.
• India is lagging in adoption of EV's - Europe, China, Korea are way ahead of us
• Government of India has taken great steps to promote Electric Vehicles
  • They are lowered GST 
  • They are offering FAME Incentives
  • Many states are also offering state incentives
• Government has done its job. The onus is on OEMs and Businesses to move to EV's
• 3 wheeler and load carriers will see explosive growth in the coming years 
• Many startups and large OEMS have launched such electric vehicles 
• No expensive charging solution is needed for most electric vehicles.
• The sector which has huge potential is 2 wheelers. 
• The sector where the jury is still out is in personal electric car transport.
• India has huge scope to become a leader in shared mobility and last mile mobility
• Let's focus on creating battery packs, making motors and power electronics in India. Let's focus on Lithium cell making once we have good scale.
• Mahindra is committed to electric vehicles. Have launched 5 EV products.
  • Mahindra has add 11,500 electric 3 and 4 wheelers on road, which have done 250 million km and saved 25,000 tons of CO2

Gunjan Krishna, IAS
Commissioner for Industrial Development and Director , Department of Industries & Commerce

• Karnataka (KA) state has a strong ecosystem which will further strengthen the upcoming EV cluster.
• KA state has 400 RnD centers across the state 
• KA is ranked 1st in Niti Aayog India Innovation Index
• BESCOM to setup 600+ charging stations in the state and 100 in Bengaluru.
• Special tariff on EV charging stations.

Chetan Maini
Co-founder & Vice Chairman
Sun Mobility Pvt. Ltd.

• India needs huge amount of 1st and last mile 2 and 3 wheelers in our cities. 
• Every metro station should have EV charging
• All eCommerce players have announced EV's for deliveries 
• Today we have 3 wheelers running in Chandigarh here electric 3 wheeler is cheaper than a diesel 3 wheeler.
• Get on player like Uber to increase demand for EV's
• BESCOM has installed 130 charge stations , which is great for Bengaluru.
• States like Delhi have identified 250 locations - 2 , 3, car and battery swapping - which will be EV charging hubs 
• Stats can create the infrastructure which will encourage private players to come in.

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