Eye on 9 million plus EV sales by 2027, government, auto companies gear up to tap India's potential

The holy city of Ayodhya is all charged up, albeit for a different cause with Tata Power and Ayodhya Development Authority joining forces to instill faith in e-mobility by installing electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in various public-parking areas with the aim of accelerating the adoption of EVs.

- NIVEDITA MUKHERJEE

Adoption of sustainable transportation solutions in this city of pilgrimage could make EVs more affordable and accessible to the people of Uttar Pradesh. Under this collaboration, announced in June 2023, Tata Power will install EV charging points at places such as Parking Survya Kund, Guptar Ghat, Amaniganj multi-level parking in front of the Jalkal Department, Kaushesh Kunj MLCP parking near the Ayodhya railway station, Tedhi Bazar MLCP parking on the east and west sides of Ayodhya as well as the Collectorate Office parking in Ayodhya. Escalating the nationwide drive to send out a powerful message about the importance of transitioning to cleaner and greener modes of transportation— this time even to pilgrim centres—Maruti Suzuki on 5 July launched the INVICTO, a premium three row utility vehicle (UV) with a revolutionary intelligent electric hybrid system in line with MSIL’s vision of a cleaner, greener, sustainable and carbon neutral world. Maruti’s most expensive offering till date unveils a new era of luxury starting at Rs 24.79 lakh with an electric hybrid powertrain with 2.0L engine and e-CVT transmission for an exceptional fuel-efficiency of 23.24 km/litre. The sophisticated dual powertrain system, combining an electric motor and a petrol engine, allows seamless transition between the engine, hybrid and electric drive modes. Chennai based EV Motorcycle startup, Raptee opened their first factory last month for manufacturing EV motorcycles to be rolled out later this year. Conceptualised in just 2019, Raptee plans to invest Rs 85 crore in this plant which will have an annual capacity of 1 lakh units and house a dedicated battery pack assembly line. The plans include a R&D centre with state-of-the-art development and testing facilities on-site to aid in future products.