CHENNAI: It is little known that Electric Vehicles (EVs) were popular during the early 20th century in what we now call the developed world, before advancements in Internal Combustion (IC) engines were made. Nearly one hundred years later, the whole world is running behind the technology due to various reasons.
Not to be left behind, India launched the first phase of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid and) Electric Vehicles (FAME) Scheme in April 2017 and encouraged by it, manufacturers of EVs began flocking towards India to gain the mover advantage. The Tamil Nadu government too has garnered a lot of interest among manufacturers with the operation of its electric bus fleet.
BYD India, a subsidiary of BYD Group, China, and one of largest EV manufacturers, recently launched its T3 MPV and T3 minivan in India, to get a start in the race. The firm’s executive director Ketsu Zhang, speaking with CE, heaped praise on the state government for its policies.
“The government of Tamil Nadu has already announced EV policies to encourage people to adopt electric vehicles. We believe the policy will help in the adoption of EVs in the state. Any positive movement made by government will help promote industries and raise awareness,” he said.
With new inventions come negatives too. In the case of EVs, weight is one factor that needs to be kept under check. Touching upon the weight penalty, Zhang said, “We are not sure about this, but we know that weight is always important for electric buses. BYD and our partner Olectra are improving designs to reduce bus weight for better consumption efficiency.”
The executive director also said it is important to give time for the society to adopt the new technology. “We dedicate to provide all means of technology and support for the society to finish the transition from IC engine to pure electric,” he stated.
But there are things to consider as well, with infrastructure being the most inhibiting factor so far. Zhang said it takes time to build a proper grid even in cities.
“Charging infrastructure is important for EVs. That is part of the reason why we focus on fleet operation, because at the current stage it is relatively easier to provide charging infrastructure to fleets which operate on fixed routes. The government should provide more support (for operating electric) public transport,” he said.
Like Zhang pointed out, EV adoption will primarily depend on how fast-charging stations are set up in the country. Working on that front is Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), an energy service company of the Indian government. EESL, managing director, Saurabh Kumar, said at present there are 65 charging stations in the Delhi-NCR region.
“We have taken part in the government’s bid to set up more stations in 11 cities across the nation. Once accepted, we plan to set up 800 charging stations during the first phase. The cities include Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Jaipur, among others and each city will get around 70-100 stations,” said Saurabh.
But the government is more ambitious with the number according to him. “They want to set up 5,000 charging stations in the country,” he said. Saurabh said it might take three months to set up such stations and not much longer than that, provided their bid is accepted.
“The number of stations that can be set up will depend upon the state EV policy as well. At present, the policies all over the nation are quite similar,” he said, on the important role that state governments play in the transition.
But electricity for such stations should also be produced in a clean way, claimed Saurabh. “We are looking at renewable energy-powered charging stations and we want to promote them as much as possible,” he declared.