The electric vehicles industry at a nascent stage in India. It is less than 1% of the total vehicle sales however has a potential to grow to more than 5% in few years. At present there are more than 4 lac electric two wheelers and few thousand electric cars on Indian roads. The industry volumes have been fluctuating, mostly depending on the incentives offered by the government. Many serious players (Hero Eco, Mahindra Reva, Electrotherm, Avon, Lohia, Ampere etc) are continuing with the mission and trying to enforce the positive change under the banner of SMEV.
More than 95% electric vehicles on Indian roads are low speed electric scooters (less than 25km/hr) that do not require registration and licences. Almost all electric scooters run on lead batteries to keep the prices low, however battery failures and low life of batteries have become major limiting factors for sales besides government subsidies. Reva is the only electric car and their new model E2O runs on lithium batteries. Manufacturers like Reva and Hero have taken initiatives to install charging station with limited success. Players like Lohia and Electrotherm have developed Electric three wheelers. Ampere and Hero have entered Electric Cycles segments. There are dozens of E-Rickshaw players mushrooming across the country but they are not SMEV members as SMEV does not support uncertified products / traders.
The Industry is almost ready for a take-off but for the incentives. It is expected that NEMMP will be implemented within a year and with that the Industry may witness a quantum leap in volumes and technology. SMEV sees a great opportunity with EVs in reducing the Carbon footprint, dependence on Crude oil imports, creating jobs and building a new Technology knowledge hub in India.
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