EVs to Cost Less Than ICE Vehicles Inside 3 Years: Niti Aayog CEO

EVs will cost less than ICE vehicles in 3 years as the price of battery packs is expected to fall by almost 51% per unit, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said

Electric Vehicles (EVs) will become cheaper than internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in three years as the price of battery packs of EVs is expected to fall by almost 51 percent per unit, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has said while speaking at the Mobility Talk Corporate Conclave at the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) 2020, TERI’s annual flagship event being held in the capital.

“Electric vehicles will become much cheaper than combustion vehicles in three years. The price of battery packs of EVs is expected to fall to USD 76 per kWh in three years, down from the present-day USD 156 per unit,” he said.

Reaffirming the national vision towards moving to clean mobility, Kant said, given its size and scale of growth potential, the Indian industry must be the biggest driver of change to make the country the centre for manufacturing EVs. “There are two challenges to address: To ensure the new form of urbanisation which is based on public transportation, and to ensure India doesn’t lose out among global manufactures of tomorrow,” he added.

Representatives from the auto industry in the session welcomed the direction given by the NITI Aayog CEO and sought clarity on pathways and policies that the government is looking to take on EVs. They urged the government to quickly develop a road map, whether to focus on hybrid or fully electric mobility, and policies that can promote indigenous research and development.

TERI DG Ajay Mathur said there is a need to decarbonise key sectors such as road economy and in the process push a transition to 100 percent green electricity-based mobility. “In order to move towards a shared, connected and zero-emission world, and to realise the full benefits of EVs, it is important that the battery is charged with clean power and not fossil power,” he said.