With small cars dominating Indian roads, any attempt to successfully electrify the country’s vehicles must first address the two and three wheeler segments, says a report on electric mobility by Ola.
“Unlike Western models, India may not easily kick start its electric journey by deploying premium electric cars. Instead, it makes sense to focus on electrifying vehicles with the highest demand and utility in the Indian context: two-wheelers and three-wheelers,” the report said. The rickshaw is already seeing high proliferation of electric variants, suggesting it is both viable and practical to prioritise these vehicle segments to ensure success in adoption of e-mobility, it added.
The Ola Mobility Institute (OMI), a policy research and social innovation think-tank of Ola Cabs, released the report earlier this week, based on its first multimodal electric mobility pilot project which was kick-started in Nagpur in May 2017. The report went on to note that the success of electric mobility will depend on leveraging shared mobility, with focus needed on lithium-ion battery swapping technology.
According to the report, high upfront costs, lack of charging infrastructure and uncertain performance of battery-powered vehicles may hold back rapid adoption of e-mobility for private users, while fleet operators are potential early adopters due to business sensitivity to operating costs.
“The government may provide subsidies and concessions until a critical threshold limit for fleet electrification is achieved. The Nagpur pilot has provided proof of battery swapping acting as a reliable charging mechanism for small vehicles. Swapping of batteries is a doable, efficient, and in the case of Nagpur, successful. Battery swapping will help in mitigating long waiting time of drivers at charging stations, for commercial and private users alike,” the reported noted.
The report by OMI also suggests schemes to accelerate the early adoption of electric mobility in India and making it financially viable by strengthening charging infrastructure and encouraging sustainable manufacture of electric vehicles.
According to the company, Ola’s fleet has served more than 3.5 lakh customers, clocked over 7.5 million clean kilometers, saved over 5.7 lakh liters of fuel and reduced carbon emissions by over 1,230 tons during the period when the pilot project was conducted.
The report went on to note that integration with renewable energy brings out the dual benefits of not only achieving financial viability but also making EVs environment friendly from cradle to grave.
The Softbank-funded cab service provider also says that the e-mobility pilot project in Nagpur has encouraged it to deploy over 10,000 electric three-wheelers in 2019, and one million electric vehicles for daily commutes across cities by 2022.