[damager21]

As per an article in ET, Piyush Goyal has said that India aims to become 100% e-vehicle nation by 2030. The government is working on a scheme to provide electric cars on zero down payment for which people can pay out of their savings on expensive fossil fuels, for becoming 100 per cent electric vehicle nation by 2030.

Elaborating further, he said, "We are working (on the scheme). Can we actually give electric car for free (zero down payment) and people can pay for that out of the savings on the petroleum products. Innovation is possible, it just needs an open mind. You need to think of scale and be honest."
The minister informed that a small working group under the leadership of Road Minister Nitin Gadkari has been created with Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on its board.

He said, "We are meeting in first week of April and see (if) India can be 100 per cent on electric vehicles by 2030. We are trying to see if we can monetise the savings then you will have use cheaper electricity for charing of your cars."

"We are thinking of scale. We are thinking of leading the world rather than following the world. India will be first largest country in the world to think of that scale."

If this happens, it will be interesting to see how consumers and existing auto players adopt this change.

Would love to see car like Tesla S1 on road


Source: ET

[mustang_shelby]

It will also be interesting to know what their plans are for producing enough electricity to power all these cars. We are already a power deficit nation.

[Durango Dude]

India is one country that does things in reverse; they will first bring out cars with cat converter and then take their own time to bring out unleaded fuel. I can't get regular power supply for my home just forget about E-Vehicles. So you can't bet on that 2030 deadline.

[AWD]

A dream far fetched! Its a good step but easier said than done. If they intend to lead the World & not follow, why depend solely on Electricity which already is inadequate. Why not try to tap other renewable energy resources viz. Solar, Hydrogen, etx.
With such changing policies I'd we wary of plonking big cash on present breed of vehicles.

[bhandary]

Originally Posted by mustang_shelby

It will also be interesting to know what their plans are for producing enough electricity to power all these cars. We are already a power deficit nation.

Probably one way I can imagine is to make it mandatory to have solar panels on every house that owns an automobile for exclusively charging the vehicle, just like the rule of rain water harvesting unit for every home for replenishing the ground water level.

[IshaanIan]

I pray to god that this doesn't mean the government will force us to scrap our petrol cars no matter how much instant torque and speed a new Tesla can generate, it still is no match for a IC engine when it comes to fun on the twisty tarmac.

[gsurya]

Why do people get impressed these days so easily by bombastic "vision" statements by those who have a hopeless record of delivery & execution?

Electric bicycles, bikes & scooters are now becoming quite popular in China; we still have a long way to get there, forget about electric cars.

If we must have a goal for 2030, it must be that every major city should have a dense metro network like Singapore.

[hellmet]

Back in 2000 these buffoons were saying we'd be a developed nation by 2020. Where do we stand on that?

I can say with guarantee that less than 1% of the vehicles on the road are electric as of today. This is a crazy and impossible vision.

[pamiboy]

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

no matter how much instant torque and speed a new Tesla can generate, it still is no match for a IC engine when it comes to fun on the twisty tarmac.

I don't understand your logic.
It's on a twisty tarmac that the massive torque and power of Tesla shines through. It will beat any reasonable IC engine on those roads except may be super cars and have fun while doing that too. It's only limitation is range which is being addressed incrementally but slowly and steadily.
If you are worried about the sound of the IC engine, then I'm sure they can address that too with some tinkering of the audio system (as BMW has already shown in some models).

[Nissan1180]

A high-level working group of the Central government will meet in the first week of April to assess if India can be a 100 per cent electric vehicle country by 2030. It will also attempt to draw up a roadmap for achieving the target, said Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy.

“We are trying to see whether India can be 100 per cent on electric vehicles by 2030. We are trying to make this program self-financing by monetizing the savings people have from using cheaper electricity to run cars,” said Goyal.

This is a quote from the article on this topic in the Hindu Businessline.
It is very evident that the Government is considering the feasibility of doing a feasibility study on this topic. In other words, it is quite far from even becoming a remotely important agenda for the future of public transport in the country.
Yes, electric vehicles are important for India, but not before a robust infrastructure for supporting the additional power demand is created. I think that intracity commercial transport can be very economically adapted to include EVs. Imagine a city bazaar where you don't have to inhale toxic fumes coming out of the dilapidated Tata Ace's/Autorickshaws and assorted three wheelers that are overloaded and ill maintained. Will electric passenger cars become popular ? Maybe- but tour operators would be the first to test them because of the running costs. A Taxi can do a maximum of around 300 Kilometers a day in city traffic (~30 kph average speed and 10 hours of uptime). Battery capacities currently permit affordable electric vehicles to have around half of that range (Nissan Leaf does 150 km on a full charge), and this is likely to improve further. So if you imagine the driver taking a one hour break for lunch and the car getting charged meanwhile, Electric taxis are quite feasible.

[landcruiser123]

The plan looks good on paper, but how do you think we'll charge all the cars when people don't get enough electricity?

Rather than this absurd target, they should take a middle path and make all cars hybrids by 2025 or so.

[NPX]

This is an achievable plan if they don't lose enthusiasm and procrastinate.

In order to achieve this feat our government has already launched a scheme named FAME India (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles in India) which is a part of the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan. In this scheme manufactures and buyers get monetary benefits for hybrid and electric vehicles. Though this scheme is still in its infancy stage but a necessary step towards cleaner and greener mobility.

Also, Maruti, Mahindra and Tata motors have joined hands to develop electric car parts. So, if everything goes by plan, we can easily achieve 100% electric mobility by 2030.

http://m.economictimes.com/industry/...w/46853934.cms
http://wap.business-standard.com/art...0800035_1.html

[Bh.P]

It probably only means 100% of vehicles sold in India by 2030 would be electric. So the IC cars sold in say, 2029, would continue to run till they are 15 years old.

Great vision, that is all I think it is. It would be interesting to see if they can at least achieve "10% of vehicles sold in India will be electric by 2030".

First, are they doing anything to encourage industry to research in this area and make EVs a viable alternative? If they are expecting all of us to switch over to a Reva like car, that is wishful thinking.

Second, do they have any numbers in mind on how much additional electricity will be required to power these cars, and from where they are going to get that WITHOUT more carbon emissions?

Third, what about the infrastructure required to quick charge these cars to support long distance travel?

Fourth, and most important, what about the push back by stakeholders of the current IC engine cars. That is a HUGE industry with a LOT of stake holders. To tell them to change in 15 years is going to have a LOT of unhappy people. So they are going to do what ever they can to disrupt this disruptive thought.

While I really hope there will be a honest effort to see this through to reality (may be along with other cleaner technologies), I think the vision is too grand to even start off. They could probably start with smaller goals.

[The Rationalist]

If the government is really serious about walking the talk, they should make Electric cars and bikes tax free. Allow it to be sold at factory price. Does the government have the will to do that? I'm sure they won't, they are hesitant to catch the tax evaders, they are squeezing the vehicle owners in terms of taxes and huge fuel bills. If they are 1% serious they can create a revolution by going for the tax free route for electric vehicles. Otherwise this is just day dreaming, dreaming of becoming developed nation and all. One hand these stupids talk of free market and at the same time tax the fuel like hell!

[antz.bin]

Originally Posted by Nissan1180

A Taxi can do a maximum of around 300 Kilometers a day in city traffic (~30 kph average speed and 10 hours of uptime). Battery capacities currently permit affordable electric vehicles to have around half of that range (Nissan Leaf does 150 km on a full charge), and this is likely to improve further. So if you imagine the driver taking a one hour break for lunch and the car getting charged meanwhile, Electric taxis are quite feasible.

The BYD E6 electric taxi with the size of an S-Cross already has had a range of 186miles (300km) from its 60kWh battery for a few years now. The 2016 version is speculated to have a range of 250mi(400km).

Post 3lac km of usage, the range loss due to battery degradation was found to be ~5% which I would say is not bad.

The costs of batteries are bound to reduce over time.

As far as power generation is concerned, India is running on the right track with solar power tenders being awarded in the last month at a frantic pace. The Govt. Is also offering incentives to upgrade older windmills to more efficient ones.