Evolving To Electric

Within four years (FY17 to FY21), passenger EV industry has witnessed a growth of seven times (7X). Tata Motors alone has sold 12,000+ EVs till Nov’21 and monthly booking generation has started touching 3,500 for its two models - Nexon EV and Tigor EV. In FY22, the Indian Passenger Vehicles EV segment is expected to triple in sales, as compared to FY21.

- Shailesh Chandra, President, Passenger Vehicles, Tata Motors

ELECTRIC VEHICLES TODAY are head turners on the Indian roads. They are increasingly gaining the mind space of Indian consumers as EVs offer a practical solution to their concerns, such as, rising fuel price and worsening pollution. New EVs launched in the past few years are providing more choices to the buyers and increasing positive word-of-mouth from the early adopters is helping in busting myths and overcoming mental barriers that existed against their adoption. State governments have also played their role through enabling policies complementing the efforts of the Central government, thus creating a favourable environment for both ecosystem players as well as buyers. Consequently, there is a steep rise in demand for electric vehicles in the last few years and there’s an increasing confidence among the business community to now invest in the development of an EV ecosystem.

Progress So Far

Government incentives have played a big role in creating an enabling environment towards adoption of EVs. The first phase of initiatives, such as NEMMP (National Electric Mobility Mission Plan) and FAME I (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric vehicles), from 2012 to 2016, had limited impact in overcoming the key barriers to electrification. However, the direction set by the government and policies introduced post 2018 have brought greater focus and have comprehensively addressed the critical barriers to EV adoption.