will rural india drive EV growth in the country?
While the culture of EV was primarily focused on Urban areas of India. New statistics shows how the shift is changing significantly.
In India rising Environment concerns and the incresing rates of fuels each passing day is adding to the concern of ordinary citizens and governments at the same time. To gear up to “zero-mission’ EV is the only way forward to such a complex problem. By the end of year 2030, it will be a common scence to see commuters travelling in ‘silent vehicles’. Governments worldwide are exacting for EV30@30 campaign which means to have at least 30% of new vehicle sales as electric vehicles.
While the culture of EV was primarily focused on Urban areas of India. News statistics show how the shift is changing significantly. In India, rural areas contribute almost half of India’s overall GDP and almost 800 million people living in rural who toil very hard to improve their standard of life every day.As per the statistics from Vahan- national vehicle registry, reveal a staggering fact that the sales of electric cars and 3w’s from the contribution of top 10 districts in India has dropped significantly from 55-60 percent in fiscal 2021 to 25-30 percent in fiscal 2022. In 2W’s segment, the percentage have dropped from 40-45 percent to 15-20 percent. The noticeable gaps here are being filled up by smaller towns and rural India.
The key reasons for EV readiness and deployment in urban India are:
Low maintenance and cost efficient:
The rising fuel prices in India and the higher cost ICE- (Internal Combustion Engines) are impacting its affordability and naturally provide a space for EV firms. The low cost of electricity in comparison to the fuel prices gives EV a massive edge over ICE and by the effective use of regenerative braking, EV recapture the energy which is generally lost in conventional vehicles. EV’s have fewer moving parts in comparison to its traditional ICE, the service of EV is handy and light on the pockets. Central schemes such as (FAME-India): Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in India has accelerated the country’s EV journey.
Refueling is Convenient:
Charging an EV is more convenient than refueling one’s ICE vehicle at a gas station which are usually jam-packed due to the increasing traffic every single day. Charging an EV at home or a workplace makes more sense and save time and money. In rural India, where people have to travel 30-40 km to refuel everyday, EV can come handy and definite alternative.
Reshaping rural infrastructure:
Many rural areas in India have a infrastructure already in place for energy generation from solar panels and if Government can push further schemes, it could develop a better infrastructure which is eco-friendly and also can reduce the burden on the grids to provide 24/7 electricity to villages. The energy generated from solar panels could be used to run heavy irrigation motor during the day, provide electricity and can also be used to charge EV’s vehicle during night.
Some challenges:
Almost 60% of consumers believe the initial cost of EV is way beyond their budget. The average cost of an EV is 15-20% higher than traditional ICE. There gap between 65,000 petrol Pumps and 1640 EV charging stations is even high. The cost of developing and maintaining a EV charging stations in rural areas can be more expensive than urban India since installation of EV charging station will require service upgrade to be able to charge heavy four wheeler such as Cargo trucks and tractors.
The increasing number of EV’s on road, will also subsequently increase the demand of more charging stations. The challenges do exist however with a roadmap and right public awareness and information, the future of EV’s can be implemented even better in rural India.
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