Why Building EVs In India Is An Uphill Ride

#News(Startup) [ via IoTForIndiaGroup ]

India — one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world — has revised its ambitious plan to go fully electric by 2030 and downgraded it to a target of 30% EVs by 2030. At present, India’s EV industry just constitutes 0.1% of the global market share.

Besides, the Centre’s Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in India (FAME) scheme, which is in Phase II now, continues to be implemented on an adhoc basis, which doesn’t help automobile manufacturers in chalking out a long-term EV strategy. The scheme was instituted to encourage buyers to buy EVs.

Also, with government undertaking Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) scrapping its order for 10,000 electric cars as government officials refused to use EVs, it doesn’t quite seem like India will follow the Norwegian road.

But even as the Centre continues its flip-flop on its EV policy, the Indian EV industry is driving its own growth, thanks to increasing awareness among people at large, technology advancement in the automobile industry and, most importantly, Indian startuppers’ zest to develop new ecofriendly, cutting-edge technology products that are at par with international technology standards.

While big, desi players such as Tata, Mahindra, and Hero Electricals have already chalked out their EV strategies, a host of startups such as Ather Energy, Emflux One, Tork Motorcycles, Okinawa Autotech have developed brand new EVs.

One of the prominent startups in the Indian EV space, Ather Energy, launched its flagship electric scooter — Ather 450 — in Bengaluru on June 5. It also launched another ebike — Ather 340 — an updated version of its previously unveiled variant S340 (2016). However, Ather’s ebikes are yet to roll out on the roads.

Ather, which started taking pre-orders last month, says “the response has been great”. While Tarun Mehta, co-founder and CEO of Ather Energy, doesn’t reveal the exact booking number, he says, “We have already booked for the 2018 inventory and are now taking pre-orders for 2019.”

The company was scheduled to start its production from July 15 onwards.

It has also launched Ather Grid, public and private EV charging solutions to bridge the infrastructural gap. The startup is backed by Hero Motor Corp, Flipkart founders, and Tiger Global.

Inc42 caught up with Mehta to understand the journey of one of the first Indian startups in the EV space, its challenges and opportunities, the technology it has developed, and also why many Indian companies, despite having presented prototypes and concept designs successfully, shy away from launching EVs on a commercial scale.

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