With Electric Vehicles, The VEHICLE SERVICE INDUSTRY Will Undergo The Biggest Disruption

With electric vehicles EVs) becoming mainstream in India, how is the vehicle service sector responding? As this sector employs a large fraction of individuals from India’s auto industry, what are the top challenges it faces? Afdhel Abdul Wahab, Director of Indus Motors, shares his thoughts

- AFDHEL ABDUL WAHAB

Electric vehicles (EVs) are a welcome change. Most of the passenger car industry supports what the government is aiming for in India regarding clean mobility. However, the disruption at the dealership level will be phenomenal and will play a crucial role in India’s aim of achieving carbon neutrality.

A dealership or a vehicle OEM’s channel can be divided into two categories: sales and service. The disruption on the sales side is happening without even much happening on the EV front in India. This includes more and more online conversations and negotiations on the price, final deal, and comparisons between different models, all taking place outside dealerships.

On the service front, the disruption is arising from the fact that EVs are very different from internal combustion engine passenger cars. This is because the former is mostly electronics, and the latter is still primarily mechanical.

Car servicing: A completely different world