With the central government focusing on achieving a fast transition to electric vehicles (EVs), the auto industry will conduct a study with the help of an external agency to come up with a roadmap for electric mobility adoption. Think tank NITI Aayog has proposed a transition to full EVs for three-wheelers by 2023 and two-wheelers up to 150cc by 2025, according to sources.
Last month, it had asked the industry representatives to come within two weeks with concrete steps that can be taken to achieve the transition. However, the manufacturers had stated that they would need a minimum of four months to work on the same, according to a PTI report. “They (auto industry) are getting a study done and will discuss this with the government,” said a source. Confirming the plans for the study, sources in the automobile industry said that the roadmap is expected to take between six weeks to two months time to complete.
“It will be done by an external agency and the recommendations will be shared with the government,” a source said, adding that the development is being seen as an attempt to find a middle path. Representatives of the industry have stated that the timeline proposed by the NITI Aayog is impractical and would cause disruption in the sector. Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran had also stated that migration to EVs needs to be planned through a multi-year roadmap to ensure the entire ecosystem is ready.
The auto industry had mooted the migration to EVs for two and three-wheelers in a phased manner by selecting the most polluted cities and targeting 100 per cent migration to EVs for such cities in staggered steps with proper timelines. Manufacturers of two-wheelers and three-wheelers had also expressed concerns over the proposal to shift to fully electric mobility.
They had argued that the industry needs more time to stabilise after the BS-VI changeover, before it takes the next step of moving from internal combustion engine technology to EVs, especially considering the Indian customer’s requirements, including price effectiveness and longer daily commutes.