Ather energy has launched its much awaited electric scooter
in the market. The real EV game is started now. In next six months there are
many more to come. (Tork motorcycle, Flow scooter from Twenty Two Motors, ZEV
India’s moped, scooter, motorcycle and three wheelers) We will
have more options then. The new vehicles will change the automobile sector
altogether. This is a disruptive technology. Like smartphones everybody will
want at least one vehicle in their parking.
These are high end vehicles with latest technology like cloud
/ mobile connectivity, interactive dashboards, geo fencing, battery use
analysis, remote diagnosis etc. It has lithium ion battery, DC motors with high
torques, regenerative breaking, reverse mode, fast charging and ample storage space.
Its silent, pollution free environment friendly vehicle with low running cost
& minimum maintenance.
There are three important reasons to buy an electric
vehicle.
One is personal – because of its low running cost and
negligible maintenance.
Second is national – nation’s energy security (now importing 4.4 million barrels of crude oil
every day to meet 82% of the country’s demand ) and saving our oil import bills. (it
is increased from Rs
4.7 lakh crore to 5.94 lakh crore this year.)
Third
is universal – we are keeping our environment clean.
Ather
has kept its cost very high. There is no
competitor right now in their segment. The other EV manufacturers are using
lead acid batteries. Their performance cannot be compared with Ather.
China
is world leader in electric two wheelers and other EVs as well. India needs to
take the lead in this sector but the progress is very slow. Considering the
increasing pollution as well as increasing import bills we must take some immediate
steps. No such infrastructure is required for two wheelers. These two wheelers
can be charged from any 5/15A socket outlet. Another issue is of range anxiety.
But average 60 kM range per charge by these vehicles is enough for daily
commute. So the electric two wheelers
can be promoted without any infrastructure hurdle. Cars, rickshaws and other big
vehicles need charging points. They need the infrastructure. But interestingly one survey shows that 81
percent of electric vehicle charging occurs at home.
We generally blame to our Government
for slow progress but our industry is also not adopting things immediately.
Transport Minister Mr. Nitin Gadkari warned the industry- Switch to
clean vehicles or be bulldozed. This suggests that they do not want to change.
They want to do business as usual. The new start-ups have taken the initiative
and they are introducing new vehicles. They will create a market. People will
definitely respond it well. Even there is great demand from rural area. Due to
ever increasing petrol prices people will definitely prefer this alternative.
