OVERCOMING THE EV HURDLE: THE POWER OF BATTERYASA SERVICE

IN THE ERA of climate change and emerging global concerns regarding rising global emissions, the transition towards a sustainable transportation system is the need of the hour.

- Amit Kapoor & Kartik

For India, the world’s third largest automobile market with annual sales of around two crore vehicles, the transition from Internal Combustion (ICE) Vehicles to Electric Vehicles (EVs) is non-negotiable. However, this transition is severely hindered by the high upfront costs of EVs, leading to its lower adoption in the country. Morris Garages (MG) recently offered ‘Battery- as- a-Service’ to customers opting for its Comet, Windsor and ZS models. While the service was already available for two and three-wheeler vehicles, MG became the first manufacturer to introduce the service in the passenger vehicle segment of the Indian market.

The battery-as-a-service programme (BAAS) is a battery leasing programme under which the battery is not sold as part of the vehicle but is leased separately to the consumers. Hence, when buying the vehicle, the consumers don’t have to pay for the battery at the time of the vehicle purchase. Instead, consumers make a monthly payment to the company based on the distance travelled by the vehicle. As batteries form around 30-40 per cent of the vehicle price, BAAS significantly reduces the prices of electric vehicles and makes them comparable to other ICE vehicles in the market. For Example, MG Comet was initially priced at Rs 7 lakhs. Although it was the cheapest electric vehicle in the market, it was priced at the higher end of the typical consumer’s buying spectrum of Rs 4-8 lakhs. Within this price range, there are numerous ICE vehicles offering better value to consumers. However, with the BAAS programme, the MG Comet is highly affordable, available at just Rs 5 lakh. This price positions it competitively amongst its peers, making it a compelling option for Indian consumers opting for an electric vehicle.