India has a Great Foundation and Suitable Environment to Develop EV Ecosystem Further

Ken O’Flaherty believes that India has a great foundation, strong commitment, and a suitable environment to develop its EV ecosystem further.

Regional Ambassador for Asia-Pacific and South Asia for COP26, Ken O’Flaherty believes that India has a great foundation, strong commitment, and suitable environment to develop its EV ecosystem further. Speaking at the webinar on ‘Future of E-Mobility in India: Strategies to Drive Demand’ – part of COP26 Webinar Series organised by TERI and the British High Commission, the Ambassador said “electric vehicles (EV) are already cheaper to run than ICE vehicles and they are expected to be cheaper to buy within the next few years. India has a great foundation, strong commitment, and suitable environment to develop its EV ecosystem further.”

The four-day discussions will cover green finance, nature-based solutions, and adaptation and resilience in the lead up to the annual global conference, the World Sustainable Development Summit, scheduled from Feb 10-12, 2021.

“As hosts of COP26, the UK is trying to set a strong example with our legally binding targets to cut emissions by 2030 whilst growing our economy. We have cut coal use in the power sector from almost 40 percent in 2012 to 5 percent in 2018, and we will phase it out entirely by 2025.” the Ambassador added.

Dr. Ajay Mathur, Director General, TERI, said “India’s transport sector should move from fossil fuels towards electricity, and in the future, aim that this electricity is generated from renewable energy.”

Industry representatives including Mahesh Babu, MD & CEO; Mahindra Electric, Rajeev Chaba, MD, MG Motors; and Sohinder Gill, CEO, Hero Electric Vehicles India, emphasised that the Indian market will require different approaches across segments, and even cities. India EV Ecosystem

They also stressed on the need for collaborations among various players and the need to address consumer issues by building demand by putting the first batch of a million EVs on the road and generating word of mouth awareness, and by building the charging infrastructure required to allay consumer anxiety about charging.

The need to create wide public awareness on electric vehicles was echoed by several policy experts “Bringing a nucleus of high-quality vehicles on the road is the best way to create public awareness. Also, we need to focus on the grid integration of electric vehicles. The vehicles are idle 96 percent of the day. They could be used for storage, and help in furthering RE generation”, said OP Agarwal, CEO, World Resources Institute (WRI) India.

Further, while addressing the audience through his video message, Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, said, “The world is at the cusp of the mobility revolution. The (EV) future is shared, connected and zero emissions. India does not have legacy issues of high-car ownership, so we can build the future of transportation on buses and shared mobility. The focus should be on moving people and not moving vehicles, which can be achieved through public transport and its electrification.”