Bharat EV Policy

While India is operating in the same global context as other countries who have adopted an EV policy, it has a unique mobility pattern which other countries do not share. An EV policy for India must be tailor made to India's particular needs. India uses a large variety of motorized transport on roads and its auto-segments are quite different from that of most of the world.

Making EVS Economically Viable

The limiting factor of batteries on driving range may be addressed by developing an ecosystem of fast-charging or swapping of batteries. This can be achieved by creating requisite infrastructure, possibly even every kilometer, in dense areas. As a result an important question arises as to what kind of strategy can make EVs, especially small vehicles, economically viable. The general strategy should address two key variables affecting the costs of EVs: battery costs and any fiscal policies that either increase the costs of an ICE vehicle or decrease the costs of an EV.

Broadly speaking, approaches exist to reduce battery costs - reducing the number of batteries that an electric vehicle needs and making batteries cheaper on a per kilowatt-hour basis. For the first approach, reducing the batteries needed for a given EV, there are two key pathways:

• Providing Charging Infrastructure: The limiting factor of batteries on driving range may be addressed by developing an ecosystem of fast-charging or swapping of batteries, by creating an infrastructure, maybe even every kilometre, in dense areas. A smaller battery will lower costs by reducing the total weight of the vehicle, resulting in higher energy-efficiency and improved ability to upgrade as the technology evolves.

• Increasing efficiency of vehicle: Incentivising developments to increase vehicle efficiency, thereby reducing energy consumption, can enable to a vehicle to travel the same distance on a smaller battery pack. Energy efficiency can be enhanced by using more efficient electric motors using better tires, enhancing the aero dynamics of the vehicles and reducing its weight. This would reduce battery size needed for a certain range.