“Even if India achieves the target of 6 million electric vehicles by 2020, the peak demand for electricity will be met effortlessly as production of electricity is set to boost multi-fold. However, to increase the electric vehicle population in the country, we need to bring down the total cost of ownership of pure electric vehicles,” said Ambuj Sharma, additional secretary, Department of Heavy Industries, government of India.

Moderating a panel discussion on the theme of ‘Electric/Hybrid Mobility plans and Policies for Future’, at the first International Transportation Electrification Conference (iTEC 2015) which opened in Chennai yesterday, he said the operational cost of an EV will be much lower as compared to conventional internal combustion engine vehicles. However, the need is to make them affordable and available in a range of vehicles in every price point and segment.

To make this possible, the government has decided to offer incentives to all vehicles including two-wheeler, three-wheelers, passenger cars, LCVs and buses. “By increasing EV penetration in the country, we will have to address two key challenges – firstly reduce the fossil fuel import bill of the country and secondly, clean up the environment,” he added  

While calling for collaboration between various stakeholders, he said it is not just government policies that will drive the electrification of transportation but polices of other stakeholders including ARAI (Automotive Research Association of India), OEMs and component makers, who will also need to play key roles.

The panelists in the discussion included Mahesh Babu, COO, Mahindra Reva; Rashmi Urdhwareshe, director, ARAI; Michael Poznanski, Chief Technology Officer, Volkswagen India; Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthy, director, IIT Madras, and I V Rao, executive advisor, Maruti Suzuki India.

Also read: iTEC 2015  lays roadmap for electromobility in India