India has ambitious plans to reduce its reliance on imported crude oil and promote the use of EVs, but the country’s green image may be hampered by high costs and a lack of infrastructure.
Fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) production in India has begun, and multiple automakers are producing electric vehicles quickly.
India is one of a select group of nations that hopes to sell at least 30% of all new automobiles by 2030 through the use of electric vehicles (EVs).
Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, who has advocated for alternative fuel, drove his hydrogen-powered Toyota to Parliament in March to declare that he would use it personally as an experimental project.
“I have favored a green transition in fuel, and rapid strides in green fuel technology will reduce the cost of electric vehicles, bringing them on a par with petrol-run vehicles in a short time,” Gadkari stated.
An Indian public policy think tank called NITI Aayog predicts that by 2030, 80% of two- and three-wheelers, 40% of buses, and 30%-70% of cars in India will be electric vehicles.
Can India fulfill its environmental goals?
India committed to being an emissions-free nation by 2070 and to reduce its emission intensity by 45% from 2005 levels by 2030 at the COP26 meeting. EVs could be essential in India’s green transition and assist in achieving these objectives.
“It is not feasible to continue on the current path of introducing ever more cars that use expensive imported fuel, clogging up already crowded cities that are plagued by infrastructural bottlenecks and severe air pollution. Heavy Industries Minister Nath Pandey recently stated at a meeting that India’s cities would suffocate.
India committed to being an emissions-free nation by 2070 and to reduce its emission intensity by 45% from 2005 levels by 2030 at the COP26 meeting. EVs could be essential in India’s green transition and assist in achieving these objectives.
“It is not feasible to continue on the current path of introducing ever more cars that use expensive imported fuel, clogging up already crowded cities that are plagued by infrastructural bottlenecks and severe air pollution. Heavy Industries Minister Nath Pandey recently stated at a meeting that India’s cities would suffocate.
Better walkability, public transportation, railroads, highways, and better automobiles are only a few of the numerous aspects of a transportation revolution. It’s conceivable that many of these superior cars will be electric, he added.
18% of India’s total energy consumption, or 94 million tons of energy equivalent to oil, is consumed by the transportation industry.
According to the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, India would need 200 MTOE of energy supply each year by 2030 to meet demand if it continued its current pattern of energy consumption.
Challenges to an electric future
EVs are more effective than conventional internal combustion engine vehicles and produce no tailpipe emissions, reducing pollution levels while generating water vapor and warm air. They are powered by hydrogen, one of the finest clean energy sources for transportation.
According to certain industry analysts, India may be able to reduce its yearly imports of crude oil, which total more than $14 billion (€13.5 billion). This transition is anticipated to be sped up by the rapid adoption of two- and three-wheeler EVs.
There are still several obstacles in India’s path to a fully electric ecosystem, including high costs, poor infrastructure, and a dearth of high-performing EVs.
According to industry experts, India will need to install 2.9 million public chargers to accommodate its 102 million EVs in order to achieve its decarbonization ambitions.
According to Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director of the Centre for Science and Environment, “the electric vehicle program has begun to receive policy attention at the national and state level, but it has not yet been able to catalyze the market to build scale.”
She claimed that less than 1% of all new car sales were still EVs and that a national regulation target and zero-emissions mandate still needed to be created.
She said that state-level EV rules with definite deadlines would help. For instance, Delhi has already grown its share of EVs to 12.5% of the total vehicle fleet, exceeding its objective of 25% electrification by 2024.
“Overall, the challenges of inadequate charging networks … limited EV models in the market, uncertainty around the battery costs, and weak consumer awareness are some of the key factors impeding accelerated electrification,” Chowdhury stated.
Government incentives for EV manufacturing
To encourage the transition to EVs, the Indian government established the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in India (FAME) initiative and a number of supply- and demand-side incentives.
Some states have also established aggressive EV goals of their own; 18 of the 28 states either have a draft policy in place or have called for one.
Energy expert Safa Khan told DW that while FAME planned to install 2,877 charging stations in 68 cities across 25 states by 2024, India only had 934 stations available as of June of last year to accommodate all classes of vehicles. Comparatively, China has about 900,000.
“The planning process needs to strike the right balance between low- and high-power charging points in locations that ensure equitable access to a diversity of EV users,” Khan stated.
“A switch to EVs represents the opportunity for communities to move towards less localized air pollution, and the onus is on the government to ensure these benefits are accrued equitably,” she stated.