NEW TRAJECTORY

A Fast-Evolving EV Landscape Is Charging Ahead – Driven By Smart Policy, Rising Demand, And A Clash Of Incumbents And Upstarts

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The domestic market has a healthy mix of marquee brands like Hero MotoCorp, TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto, which have grown their electric-vehicle portfolio, and pure electric-vehicle (EV) companies that have built and publicly listed ventures, such as Ola Electric Mobility and Ather Energy.

This is a major shift in India’s transition to electric vehicle technologies that have been developed and commercialized for the domestic market. For perspective, a decade ago, the first generation of electric vehicles in India were primarily low-speed two-wheelers and electric rickshaws, imported from China and sold in the domestic market. Brands such as Ampere Vehicles, Okinawa Autotech, and Hero Electric capitalized on the early interest in the total cost of ownership (TCO) of electric vehicles.

The first wave was made possible by lithium-ion batteries, imported from China, which began to make the TCO of electric vehicles comparable against rising oil prices.

POLICY PUSH

In 2015, the introduction of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme was a pivotal moment to catalyze the domestic market. A new government at the Centre, the National Democratic Alliance, incentivized electric mobility aimed at creating consumer demand, technology platforms, pilot projects, and charging infrastructure in India. It earmarked ₹529 crore for FAME I.

Since then, the second phase of the FAME scheme in 2019 injected another ₹11,500 crore for the next five years. The government set a lofty goal of 30% EV penetration by 2030.