[navdeep.rana]

As talked earlier about Govt. of India's plan to introduce all Electric Vehicles fleet by 2030 in order to bid against the increasing Climate Change issue, in a new update they have mentioned that it's not their priority any more.

http://www.livemint.com/Industry/E1O...t-by-2030.html

https://inc42.com/buzz/electric-vehi...vernment-2030/

https://auto.ndtv.com/news/no-plan-a...rnment-1795166

As difficult as it sounded, it becomes hard to implement such a strong transition in a country like India which is still dealing with lots of other implementation & regulation regarding issues when it comes to vehicles. In an another ambitious move, Govt. is planning to shift directly to an all BS-VI vehicles from June 2020 from the current BS IV. Earlier the transition was supposed to start from 2022.

According to some experts, moving directly to BS VI is going to be difficult for the automotive industry and is definitely going to increase in price which ultimately the market will have to absorb.

So far, Germany is firm on its standing of an all EV fleet from 2030. In developing country like India, it will take at least 5-7 more years on top of 2030. Its not going to be an easy transition and govt. will need a lot of investment in setting up charging stations all across country. Then their is issue of importing Lithium, Cobalt etc that is also going to prove expensive both on pocket and environment. Perhaps a country like India can follow the suite of developed countries in such a move.

Is going all Electric the only possible solution for battling environmental pollution caused by vehicles? Or there should be other areas where Govt should put its focus before getting carried away like this again?

[avingodb]

Sounds nice. However, this may be a bargaining chip for the next round of climate negotiations.

Also a bit regressive to be announced so early; 2030 is far away and technology is changing faster than anyone imagined. Such moves do not encourage innovation, which I feel is a critical need of the hour for India.

[anjan_c2007]

Confusing signals are being sent by top government functionaries :

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com...w/63374843.cms

While some Union Ministers have vowed that not a single fossil fuel vehicle will be on sale from 2030 onwards, the Niti Aayog, Dy Chairman, Mr Amitabh Kant has said that we need to first introduce EV's in the two wheeler and commercial vehicle segment and not cars.

Mr Pawan Goenka, MD, Mahindra and Mahindra adds " I do not see any mixed signals. The only thing that can be concluded is that it is becoming clear that 100 % EV by 2030 is neither feasible nor desirable and therefore this is not being mandated. This should not come as a surprise to anyone."

[navdeep.rana]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Confusing signals are being sent by top government functionaries :

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com...w/63374843.cms

While some Union Ministers have vowed that not a single fossil fuel vehicle will be on sale from 2030 onwards, the Niti Aayog, Dy Chairman, Mr Amitabh Kant has said that we need to first introduce EV's in the two wheeler and commercial vehicle segment and not cars.

Mr Pawan Goenka, MD, Mahindra and Mahindra adds " I do not see any mixed signals. The only thing that can be concluded is that it is becoming clear that 100 % EV by 2030 is neither feasible nor desirable and therefore this is not being mandated. This should not come as a surprise to anyone."

Instead of forcing, Govt can start providing really nice perks for the ones who buys an EV. eg- No RC fee on registration, and no toll tax on NHAI toll plazas for people driving Electric Cars. Incentives + Infrastructure + Options to choose from will move people to move towards electric cars themselves. But again, easier said than done.

[pkulkarni.2106]

It's difficult for a country like India to go 100% electric this early. I feel manufacturing an electric vehicle is far easy than to create an infrastructure across the country to charge them.
Recently, I read a news where Ola cab drivers were reluctant in using the electric fleet in Nagpur, just because they had to wait in the queue to get their cabs charged.

Unless we have a robust infrastructure across the country to charge vehicles (read: fast charge), there will be very few takers.

[The Brutailer]

Man, this news is like seeing an oasis in a desert.

I consider myself to be a hard-core petrol head. Love internal combustion, infact took mechanical engineering because of it (even though I was always a bit of a geek in my teens). I was crestfallen ever since I heard the decision on implementing only pure electric vehicles for sale from 2030. I mean, IC engines have character, have mood...have life. Electric cars are basically whiny, high tech toasters.

Yet, the potential is infinite. As we know, our world is changing; it’s becoming stranger each day. Pollution isn’t going down, and why are we thinking only about ourselves? What about the later generations who will suffocate and stifle from the unpure air?

That’s the problem with our government. It’s either all or nothing. What they should’ve done is promote, encourage and aid the development of hybrids. Keeps the petrol head in me happy, keeps the ‘guilt-ridden me’ satisfied. Some of our exemplary members like V. Narayan own these vehicles and I’m sure they are more than satisfied with it, right?

Again, the manufacturers have to be careful too. Don’t make the car too dull by adding an electric motor to the good, old petrol one. Instead use it to make the car more wicked, more mischievous. Use it to fill all the little gaps in the power and torque delivery. With the efficiency which is so high that it puts you in bewilderment.

So, there you go ladies and gentlemen, the future is electric but we have to first combine the past and the future.

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by navdeep.rana

Instead of forcing, Govt can start providing really nice perks for the ones who buys an EV. eg- No RC fee on registration, and no toll tax on NHAI toll plazas for people driving Electric Cars. Incentives + Infrastructure + Options to choose from will move people to move towards electric cars themselves. But again, easier said than done.

Govt. did announce some incentives for EVs but they are not enough. The very high initial investment for EVs is the first turn off. That coupled with limited travel range, lack of charging infrastructure and cost of battery packs, etc; all of them together don't convince a regular user to buy an EV.

IMO, registration and road toax, exemption from tolls, etc are minuscule compared to the total investment made to buy a car. It won't be lucrative enough to bring it at par with regular cars.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by pkulkarni.2106

Unless we have a robust infrastructure across the country to charge vehicles (read: fast charge), there will be very few takers.

I agree.

But what needs to be taken up is why this robust infrastructure is not being created. We have power plants running at 60% load on an average because of less demand, while the gen set market doubles every 5 years. This proves that the problem is in getting the available product - electricity - to the market.

Do that, and EVs will be prevalent on their own. Don't do that, and no amount of legislation will make them become widespread except at the cost of crippling movement of goods and people, and thereby, the country/economy.

It is the same problem that prevails everywhere in India, from swachh Bharat, to digital India to EV India: the soft/hard infrastructure to achieve these slogans isn't being addressed, leaving the slogans as empty slogans and jumlas.

[navdeep.rana]

Originally Posted by ashis89

Govt. did announce some incentives for EVs but they are not enough. The very high initial investment for EVs is the first turn off. That coupled with limited travel range, lack of charging infrastructure and cost of battery packs, etc; all of them together don't convince a regular user to buy an EV.

Manufacturers will have to starts together and the government will have to make sure that people make the switch at right time.

Originally Posted by Sawyer

I agree.

But what needs to be taken up is why this robust infrastructure is not being created.

That is true! Infrastructure creation is the need of the hour. Perhaps this will also help in creating jobs under Stand-up India initiative.

Originally Posted by The Brutailer

Man, this news is like seeing an oasis in a desert.

Aha! Sounds about right!

[SJM1214]

No deadline for automobile companies to adopt electric vehicles: Nitin Gadkari

The Centre has not set any deadline for automobile manufacturers to switch to electric mobility or to ban production of petrol, diesel vehicles, union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday.

“There is no deadline as of now. The shift towards electric vehicle will happen in a natural progression,” Gadkari said. However, the government will continue to promote cleaner, sustainable and alternative fuel, he said.

Gadkari’s comments assume significance as the Indian automobile sector is staring at a crisis, with a continued slowdown in sales and job cuts over the past few months

News Source.

[locusjag]

Lest we mistake climate change/global warming to be a recent phenomenon to be pinned of automobile users in Asia alone, here's a historical trail of discoveries, temperature measurements and warnings about global warming, starting from 1800 - https://history.aip.org/climate/timeline.htm

And moreover, there are other far more responsible sources of greenhouse gas emissions - the meat industry, rice farmers in Asia, the shipping industry, the aviation industry (fun fact: in the aftermath of 9/11, when every single aircraft was grounded around the world, the globe's temperature dipped by 1*C immediately) etc.

[srini1785]

I think its a temporary assurance. India is a signatory to the paris deal and a part of the deal is to phase out IC engines. My guess is that the govt does not want to pour oil into the fire by insisting on EV by 2030 in the present downturn scenario. They may wait for 2-3 quarters before auto companies recover and then start the process once again. Remember , they are politicians .

I do not know much about the climate deal but they won't make a global pact without having a clause about fines / levies for non compliance. Needless to mention , controlling the tech of the future (read business) in the guise of climate change.

[rajvardhanraje]

Considering the challenges in terms of infrastructure, we are not in a position to go all electric by 2030. Those challenges should be addressed first. It is only when the EVs start becoming viable alternatives to the IC engine powered vehicles, people will start adopting them. Currently the high prices and low range are deterrents. When these two factors are addressed, people will start migrating to EVs gradually.

The government should also start offering more incentives to promote EVs like some of the European countries are doing. At this moment the push towards the transition is more in one direction. Fossil fuel cars are penalized but EVs are still not being promoted to the extent they should be to make them a feasible option for the masses to buy.

In the cities maybe we could be somewhat EV ready but the rural areas are far from being ready to adopt EVs anytime in the coming decade.

[wheelguy]

For a country like us, transition cannot be smooth given the resistance from the auto-sector, non-availability of technology, non-availability of relevant suppliers to match the required scale, ...etc.

Instead of spreading thin across the whole country, instead spreading across 2w, 3w, and 4w, what if the government concentrates all its efforts(subsidies etc) on particular geography(say some state) and particular sector(say 2w or 4w) and then move to next geography and so on?

Can this not make the job easier for the government?

[sharninder]

Why is the govt running like a headless chicken ? This is probably the 3 or 4th time they've done a U turn or side turn on this policy. How is a business supposed to plan for the future and invest if they can't decide even 5-6 years ahead. Setting up a plant and getting money back will have a gestation period of atleast a decade. Make in India has anyway been a failure and these U turns aren't helping the cause anyway.
God help the industry.