A CHALLENGING PHASE FOR INDIA'S ELECTRIC VEHICLE (EV) MARKET

The electric vehicle industry in India is picking pace with new manufacturing hubs, and increased push to improving infrastructure.

- Jagendra Kumar

The global automotive industry is undergoing a paradigm shift at present in trying to switch to alternative/less energy intensive options. India, too, is investing in this electric mobility shift. By making the shift towards electric vehicles (EVS), India stands to benefit on many fronts: it has a relative abundance of renewable energy resources and availability of skilled manpower in the technology and manufacturing sectors. Regardless of the country's ambitious targets, India's EV space is at a nascent stage.

However, looking at it differently - India offers the world's largest untapped market, especially in the two-wheeler segment. The rising adoption of charging stations powered by solar energy is expected to create numerous growth opportunities for the market players. With the increasing use of EVs, there is a need to harness a more-sustainable energy source to run the vehicles, and the sun is a potential source of renewable energy for charging systems. India plans to attain renewable energy generation capacity of 175 gigawatts (GW) by 2022, of which 100 GW would be in the form of solar energy.

Thus, the use of unconventional sources of energy for charging electric vehicles is expected to generate new growth opportunities for the players in the market. India is seeing rapid growth in sales of Electric Vehicles (EVS) as consumers rush to switch from gasoline-powered vehicles due to the rising cost of fuel.