India's EV mission will be incomplete without two wheelers and tuk tuks but not without a few speed bumps

• A report by Ola Mobility Institute said that shared transportation will be a major contributing factor in the growth of EVs.
  
• Two-wheelers and three-wheelers have the highest demand in India.
  
• However, given India’s infrastructural problems from bad roads to lack of charging stations, the EV journey has multiple challenges.
  
  

On the Indian roads one cannot miss the overwhelming presence of two-wheelers and three-wheelers. So it’s no surprise that they will form a major part of India’s electric vehicles mission.

A report on electric mobility published by Ola Mobility Institute said that it’s shared transportation that can only push the growth of EVs.

India has been shifting its gears in transportation to embrace Electric Vehicles (EVs). While news about India’s top auto manufacturers introducing electric vehicle manufacturing doesn’t surprise one now, questions still lurk about the country’s acceptance to EVs because of lack of proper infrastructure.

“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 rickshaw is already proliferating in electric variants, suggesting it is both viable and practical. Thus, appropriate prioritisation of vehicle segments for electrification may prove to be critical to the adoption of e-mobility,” stated the report.

Ola’s report is based on its pilot project in Nagpur, while its on a mission to bring 1 million EVs on Indian roads by 2022.

The government expects that 25% of all vehicles on the roads will be EVs by 2030. And the push has to come with two-wheelers and three-wheelers, which today occupy over 80% of total Indian vehicles and also contribute to 35% of pollution in India, according to a report by NITI Aayog and World Energy Council.

The Indian government too has been promoting the use and manufacture of EVs. Under the FAME II scheme, the government is offering direct subsidies of upto ₹88 billion to consumers who are adopting EVs.

However, given India’s infrastructural problems from bad roads to lack of charging stations, the EV journey has a few speed bumps.

Another challenge is the high electricity tariff. Ola’s report states, “Although the cost of electricity shrunk significantly post the implementation of special EV tariff in October 2018, the tariff continues to be unfavorable for TCO (Total Cost Opportunity) economics to work.”

With drivers too having had little or no exposure to electric vehicles, it is another task when it comes to the adoption of EVs. In fact, Ola’s initial plan of electric mobility in Nagpur also faced trouble when drivers started reportedly returning the vehicles.