Electric Mobility

With fossil fuel headed the way of dinosaurs, it's time to familiarize yourself with the key players, facts, and figures surrounding India's burgeoning electric ecosystem.

- PARTH CHARAN

THE EV MOVEMENT gained considerable momentum in India last year and is likely to get even bigger this year. With several national and state subsidies in place, gradually expanding charging infrastructure, and some tantalizing EVs on the horizon, the country's path to total electrification is studded with superstars.

THE PIONEER

The Mercedes-Benz EQC will forever hold the distinction of being India's first-ever luxury EV. It was the first car that introduced people to the appeal of a silent, insular, and alarmingly quick form of mobility, which, as a bonus, came with a three-pointed star on its grille. The EQC's considerable hauling power coupled with its space and sophistication signalled the evolution of India's EV space in a way no car had before.

THE ICON

As the scooter that mobilized an independent India, the Bajaj Chetak holds an exalted spot in history that few, if any, cars or two-wheelers could hope to reach. Bajaj Auto's first breakout star, the Chetak was stylish, accessible, economical, and durable, setting the template that India's burgeoning two-wheeler industry was to follow in the years to come. It's fitting, then, that the e-mobility revolution in India is headlined by its successor: the Bajaj Chetak electric. With its swashbuckling neo-retro styling cues, LED headlamps, alloy wheels, and 3-kWh lithium-ion battery, the new Chetak is very much a contemporary, 21st-century product. But its core objectives remain similar to its antecedent's: to be a modern, reliable, frugal form of mobility whose appeal transcends class, age, and gender.