All-electric cars fleet by 2030

The Power Minister, Piyush Goyal has suggested that India has targeted only electric cars to operate in the country by 2030. It was also reported than the Ministry of Heavy Industries and the NITI Aayog would be working on policies that would promote these electric vehicles. The minister also pointed that it would be cost effective when people prefer buying electric vehicles over petrol and diesel cars. The government of India is working on a scheme that would provide electric cars to people who can pay out of their savings on expensive fossil fuels, for becoming a 100% electric vehicle nation. Goyal is also of the view that initially the government could support the electric vehicle industry for 2-3 years to help it stabilise, as the government has helped support many of India’s car makers and developments in the automotive industry.

Tesla may enter India: Elon Musk

Silicon-valley based carmaker Tesla, is mulling to enter the Indian market this summer. It will go into production and come to India only in 2018. Tesla is planning a global launch starting with US and India would preferably get the older models of Tesla. India is on the radar for both Musk and the company – not only as a market but also as a manufacturer. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit with Musk, he took a tour of the plant and discussed the use of the renewable energy in India’s vicinity. With the growing concerns of rising pollutions in large cities being Delhi and Bangalore, the push towards zero-emissions vehicles has increased. The coming of Tesla would not necessarily promise the increase in sale of electric vehicles but can create an aura that would promise well for the electric vehicle industry.

So why electric cars?

Green living and green concepts are the new buzzwords in our ages as a result of which electric cars are gaining more popularity. Since cars produce a lot of carbon emissions that are ejected into the natural atmosphere, creating issues such as pollution and greenhouse gases, electric cars is a great step towards a better environment. By buying electric cars, there are chances of earning subsidies from the government for being environmentally conscious. Combustion engines have forced humans to look at Electric cars as an alternative. As per research conducted by the General Motors, electric cars can convert about 60% of electric energy in comparison to gasoline vehicles that can only convert about 20% of energy. In India, most of the fuel (both coal and petroleum) are imported, thus moving to electric cars and improving efficiency would certainly provide more advantage in terms of energy efficiency. Along with that, electric cars have an option to use the electricity generated by renewable sources such as solar, wind, hydro, etc. which causes zero pollution.

Assessment

The biggest challenge for electric cars would be with regard to their energy storage capacity. Charging of batteries seems to be another concern as it takes around 4 to 8 hours to fully charge batteries; and the infrastructure in India, does not provide the ease of charging cars at any point. In order to become 100% electric car nation, infrastructure developers will have to install sufficient EV charging setup for hassle-free commuting.  

Electric cars may have a negative impact on the energy bills and can also be limited to the range and speed. The current crop of electric cars are quite highly priced and as considerably more expensive that even gas-powered vehicles which could pressure on most income groups. As electronic vehicles provide lesser mileage compared to their counterparts that run on conventional energy, range anxiety would remain a major concern among many vehicle owner.