READINESS TO ACCEPT ELECTRIC CARS IN

INDIA

 ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE:

The primary diligence of this research is aimed at identifying influencing

factors on acceptance of electric vehicles. The study is about, whether the
customers are ready to accept electric vehicles and what factors influence the
consumers in accepting electric vehicles.

Methods/Statistical Analysis: The data used for the study is secondary data
such as, Articles, studies conducted by automobile companies and journals
published.

Findings: The research shows that the automobile companies are

introducing more electric vehicles in the market and the government should
introduce more charging stations in order to help consumers in adapting to
electric vehicles. The government of India is fully dedicated to make India a
100% Electric vehicle nation by 2030. The government launched the FAME
(Fast adoption and manufacturing ofElectric vehicles) India scheme, offering
incentives on electric and hybrid vehicles.
Application: The conclusion of this paper emphasizes that the companies
and government should undertake several
initiatives in educating the customers about the benefits of using electric
vehicles in India. The Government should also take initiative in introducing
charging stations, so that it is convenient for the customers to charge their
vehicles.

Keywords:

Electric vehicles, Hybrid vehicles, Charging station, Factors influencing,

Adapting.
 INTRODUCTION

The world's fifth largest auto market is readying for a stupendous

transformation: moving completely towards electric vehicles EVs by
2030.This is a part of the Narendra Modi government's vision to helm a
renewable energy revolution in the country (Quartz India, 2017).

Transportation ranks second after electric power as the largest source of

carbon emissions in the world. Over the past few decades, research has been
conducted to investigate various aspects of the development of sustainable
low-carbon transportation technologies to reduce carbon emissions. As a
result, there are already a number of potential alternatives to the
conventional diesel/petrol combustion engine. An important development
that can improve fuel efficiency and decrease emissions is the introduction
of hybrid electric vehicles. However, hybrid electric vehicles are equipped
with diesel engines that generate carbon dioxide and cause air pollution.
Another alternative is full electric vehicles (energy provided by a battery),
which have a zero-emission potential when electricity is produced with the
use of renewable energy sources. In fact, powering electric vehicles through
solar charging stations could reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of
these vehicles by up to 34%. Although full electric vehicles have been
available since the dawn of motoring, they were not popular. Due to
contemporary environmental concerns, full electric vehicles have been
making a comeback in the 21st century. Mass-produced full electric vehicles
are being introduced into the market by many car manufacturers. To support
the widespread adoption of full electric vehicles, there is a need to examine
the factors influencing the consumer acceptance of these vehicles because
consumer acceptance is a key to the commercial success (or failure) of full
electric vehicles. There are many factors that influence car-purchasing
behavior, including actual situational factors such as regulatory
environments.

 HIGHLIGHTS

Tesla redefining the car industry much like Apple redefined the mobile
industry. The range and cost of EVs is largely dependent on one key
component -Batteries. More specifically lithium-ion batteries (LIB). LIBs
are getting real cheap, thanks to manufacturing scale and efficiencies.The
Government of India is fully dedicated to make India a 100% EV nation by
2030 that led to a sharp rally in stock of companies with an exposure to EVs.
Electric vehicles (Cars, Buses) will be the future of our country because very
soon the running cost of the vehicle could be around 20 to 30 paise per km
and can attain the speed of 40-50 km per hour. Its cost will be so much less
that People will soon shift from petrol/Diesel vehicles to electric vehicles.
The Most important thing is that the Electric Vehicles could create $300
Billion Domestic Battery Market by 2030. One more thing we have to notice
is that the government had launched the FAME India scheme in 2015
offering incentives on electric and hybrid vehicles of up to Rs 29,000 for
bikes and Rs 1.38 lakh for cars.
READINESS TO ACCEPT ELECTRIC CARS

ELECTRIC CAR PRODUCING COMPANIES

 MAHINDRA:

Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) Ltd won the order of 500 electric vehicles
(EVs) from the government.

· (M&M) join hands with Uber for deployment of electric vehicles on the
cab aggregator’s platform in several cities across India

· Mahindra also wants to sell electric vehicles in US

(timesofindia.indiatimes.com, 2018)

 TATA MOTORS:

· Tata Motors Ltd gets the order of 10,000 electric vehicles (EVs) from the
government. The worth of Rs 1200 crore (tatamotors.com, 2017)

· Tata Motors ready to launch electric Nano vehicles in Delhi with Ola for
its taxi fleet

· Very soon the company also going to launch the Electric version of well-
known model Tata Tiago (tatamotors.com, 2017)

 ASHOK LEYLAND:

· Ashok Leyland introduced the first 'Made in India' electric bus “Circuit”
last year.
· It has also formed a strategic alliance with SUN Mobility to develop
electric mobility solutions and will make electric buses and batteries.
(economictimes.com, 2018)

 HERO MOTO CORP

· Hero MotoCorp, the country's biggest two-wheeler maker, is working to

rollout electric vehicles in the next 2-3 years.

· Hero has also invested Rs 205 crore in Ather Energy, a Bangalore based
entity which is developing electric two-wheelers.

· Hero Electric eyes to touch Rs 1,000 crore revenue in next four years
(economictimes.com, 2018)

 OK PLAY INDIA LTD

· The Company is producing e-rickshaw.

· The company plans to produce the e-vehicles from its six manufacturing
units spread across the country.

· Company also plans to open 4 more manufacturing units by end of first

quarter of 2018 (Overdrive, 2017)

 JBM AUTO

· JBM formed a joint venture with Polish firm Solaris Bus & Coach S.A. to
manufacture electric buses in India

· The company not just makes e-buses but also offer solutions such as
batteries and charging technology in near future. (auto.ndtv.com, 2018)
 GOLDSTONE INFRATECH

· It bagged an order for 25 electric buses from the Himachal Road Transport
Corporation and 6 electric buses from the (BEST)

· Company plan to make 200-300 buses per year, which means the turnover
will go to `500 crore from this. (thehindubusiness.com, 2018)

 AUDI

German luxury carmaker Audi can drive in electric vehicles EVs into the
Indian market by 2020, provided there is development of charging
infrastructure in the country.

Globally Audi will launch three EVs until 2020, but for that charging
infrastructure needs to be there. (auto.ndtv.com, 2018)

Globally by 2025, Audi is looking to have 30 per cent of its sale to come
from electric vehicles.

It plans to introduce one EV model each year starting 2020. (Economic

Times, Jan 2018)

 TOYOTA & SUZUKI

Toyota and Suzuki are also conducting a comprehensive study on the use of
electric vehicles in India. Their studies will include the establishment of
charging station and the training of sales & after sales team.

Suzuki has announced that it will be establishing li-ion battery plant in

Gujrat and is also looking out to locally produce and source the equipment
which will be used for the battery pack, electric motors and other essential
parts.

Suzuki CEO, Toshihiro Suzuki had said that "as the Indian government is
pushing towards the production and use of electric vehicles in India". The
partnership with Toyota will help them face the hurdles as India is looking
forward to going all electric by the year 2030.

Electric Vehicles as storage

The fates of solar power and electrical vehicles in India are likely to be
closely interlinked, given that EVs have batteries that can offer a storage
solution to India's clean energy push.

Niti Aayog has recommended offering fiscal incentives to EV manufactures

and discouraging privately owned petrol and diesel fuelled vehicles.

 LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES MAKER COMPANIES

 EXCIDE INDUSTRIES

 AMARA RAJA

 EON ELECTRIC

 COMPANIES WHO IS MAKING CHARGING STATION

  OLA AND INDIAN OIL- INDAIN oil has partnered with Ola
launched the country's first charging station in Nagpur.

 NTPC- Ntpc (National Thermal Power Corporation) said it was

seeking a pan-India license to set up charging stations.

 EESL (energy Efficiency Services Ltd.) is a joint venture of ntpc

limited is planning tenders for nearly 4000 EV charging stations in the
NCR.

 TATA POWER-Tata power launched Mumbai's first commercial EV

charging station

 BENEFITS AND DOWNSIDES OF ELECTRIC CARS

Electric cars have several environmental benefits over conventional internal

combustion engine automobiles, such as a significant reduction of harmful
tailpipe pollutants such as particulates (soot), volatile organic compounds,
hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, ozone, lead, and various oxides of
nitrogen.

The potential for a significant reduction in CO2 emissions. However, the

amount of carbon dioxide emitted depends on the emission intensity of the
power sources used to charge the vehicle, the efficiency of the said vehicle
and the energy wasted in the charging process. For mains electricity the
emission intensity varies significantly per country and within a particular
country, and on the demand, the availability of renewable sources and the
efficiency of the fossil fuel-based generation used at a given time.

Furthermore, the carbon dioxide emitted for the manufacturing should be

taken into account.

Heavy reliance of rare-earth elements such as neodymium, lanthanum,

terbium, dysprosium, lithium, cobalt, we should note that the presence of
some rare metals and the amount thereof differs per car. Reliance on these
rare-earth elements is a problem as these resources are finite.

Possible increased particulate matter emissions from tyres. This is

sometimes caused by the fact that most electric cars have a heavy battery,
which means the car's tyres are subjected to more wear. The brake pads,
however, can be used less frequently than in non-electric cars, if
regenerative braking is available and may thus sometimes produce less
particulate pollution than brakes in non-electric cars.

Also, some electric cars may have a combination of drum brakes and disc
brakes, and drum brakes are known to cause less particulate emissions than
disc brakes.

 RISKS ASSOCIATED

The safety risks of cars with large battery packs

When a Tesla Model S's battery ignited in 2013, after the car was involved
in an accident, the car manufacturer added a titanium barrier to their cars.
Then, at the start of 2017, another Model S battery burst into flames after an
accident; the problem hadn't been completely solved. But does this mean
that electric cars are any less safe than combustion engine vehicles?

'There have been few issues associated with these problems, though it seems
like more because the new technology gets reported on,' observes Chris.
'There seems to be sufficient provision from manufacturers for battery
safety, and new systems often require greater levels of safety than
established technology as people need to be won over to new
concepts.'(factordaily.com, 2017)

He also points out that fires involving combustion engines are far more
common. Between April 2016 and March 2017, there were 23,505 road
vehicle fires in the UK. Since 2010, only 110,000 alternative fuel vehicles
have been registered for use on British roads. When you compare that to the
37.5 million total vehicles currently registered, it stands to reason that the
vast majority of these fires involve petrol or diesel vehicles.

'It's still safer driving a pure electric car than a petrol or diesel one,' argues
Chris, 'as batteries are housed in tough casings, whereas a fuel tank is often
made of only fairly thin metal or plastic.'

Working safely with high-voltage cars

Another risk is highlighted by the UK government's Health and Safety

Executive. It has issued a warning to anyone working with, maintaining or
recovering electric vehicles, observing that they 'introduce hazards into the
workplace in addition to those normally associated with the repair and
maintenance of vehicles'. (factordaily.com, 2017)
'There is a safety issue to the high-voltage batteries, but this only really
becomes a potential problem when work is being carried out on the car,'
observes Chris. 'The Institute of the Motor Industry has a course for
mechanics to learn how to safely work on hybrid and electric cars.'

Does the handling of electric cars improve safety?

'Batteries are usually at the bottom of the car, which means that the largest,
heaviest component is placed low down, dropping the Centre of gravity as
low as possible, and distributing weight between the axles,' says Chris.

'As such, the driving experience is often more enjoyable and safer,' he
reasons. 'With less weight high up the car or beyond the axles, there is less
potential for handling problems.'

Are silent cars more dangerous?

'Stop, look and listen' has long been the advice for children who want to
cross the road – but what if the car is too quiet to hear?

The Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), which was commissioned by the

Department for Transport to find out if electric cars were too quiet,
discovered that, 'relative to the number of registered vehicles', electric and
hybrid cars and vans 'were 30% less likely to be involved in an accident'
than their petrol or diesel alternatives.

However, they are more likely to be involved in accidents involving

pedestrians. Research conducted by charity Guide Dogs (@guidedogs),
found that 'quiet hybrid and electric vehicles are 40% more likely to collide
with pedestrians than cars with a regular combustion engine'.
'Many electric car manufacturers have installed a noise-making device that
operates when the car is running at slow speeds,' says Chris. 'This lets
pedestrians know that a car is around. More sophisticated technology, such
as sensors targeting sound waves to specific pedestrians, is being developed.'

So, how safe are electric cars? As with any emerging transport technology,
there could be some new risks associated with the increase in electric
vehicles – but this doesn't mean that they're any safer or more dangerous
than petrol and diesel vehicles. With electric vehicles due to take over our
roads by 2040, more research is needed into making sure that they are as
safe as possible.

CONCLUSION:

The scale-up required to attain competitiveness in the niche, global market

of electric vehicles still depends largely on the unrolling of the Indian policy
regime. A strong and systematic R&D incentive system and consumer-side
capital subsidies are needed to unfurl such pragmatism within the domestic
market. Such a product roll-out would mean incremental gains not only for
the Indian industry in terms of growth, knowledge and job creation, but it
would also cater to one of the most demanding car markets globally. The
automobile sector is very valuable to the Indian growth story. As a direct
and indirect employer to over 13 mn people [1], and a contributor of about 5
% of the Indian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) [2], it is no surprise that the
government is keen to promote, accelerate and sustain this sector’s
momentum. The global trend towards electric vehicles, albeit ambiguous,
presents an opportunity for the Indian industry to truly leapfrog. The size of
the Indian domestic market itself is reason enough to do so — India is
already the second fastest growing car market, and its urban population size
is expected to increase to 40 % of the total population by 2025. Most of this
urban population would look to private mobility solutions, as the lack of an
adequate public transport system makes the former both a norm and a
necessity. If we add to this industry-mobility nexus, the sustainability
imperative that our current fossil fuel dependence keeps at bay, e-mobility
seems to be an opportunity and a solution that needs to be seriously and
adequately expedited. With ambiguous policy regimes at play, it is hard to
say if Indian companies would go on to become significant players in the
global EV market, since such market competitiveness is vulnerable also to
domestic protection extended by foreign governments through various tariff
and non-tariff barriers. However, despite the speculative nature of the
industry globally, Indian industrialists possess competitive advantages of
cheaper product development, global market reach and a relatively unsettled
global technology paradigm – an almost textbook chance for technology
leapfrogging.

References

[1] KPMG, India Automotive Study 2007, http://

www.kpmg.de/docs/India_Automotive_study_2007.pdf

[2] KPMG, India Automotive Study 2007, http://

www.kpmg.de/docs/India_Automotive_study_2007.pdf
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