Week in Brief: NTPC working on electric vehicle charging infrastructure, Electric Vehicle fleet of Zoom Car and more

Suzuki will be testing EVs on Indian Roads by next year, the launch will be on hold till the infrastructure develops

With the industry wide push to move to electric vehicles, Suzuki Motors, two wheeler unit might start testing its electric scooters on Indian roads by next year. However, the company will wait till the infrastructure develops in India to launch it officially. When the company eventually launches its electric two-wheelers in India, it stands to benefit from the EV infrastructure of Maruti Suzuki, the country’s largest carmaker and Suzuki Motor’s cash cow.  The government is pushing the automobile industry towards electric mobility to combat worsening air quality and rising petroleum imports in the country.

Electric Ninja to be launched by Kawasaki

Kawasaki, a Japanese premium motorcycle manufacturer is going to come up with an electric motorcycle, Electric Ninja as per a media report. Yoshimoto Matsuda, Senior Manager, Innovation Department division at Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. and his team have been working on the electric motorcycles since the 2000s. The motorcycle maker has teased a test mule in a video that looks like the upcoming electric Ninja. Kawasaki quoted that, it will be fun and exciting to control the electric motorcycle which will reflect the passion of the brand. The video was slightly inclining that Kawasaki is testing the electric powertrain on a 2017 Ninja 650. However, the details about the powertrain are not clear yet.

Tata Motors, BYD-Olectra, Ashok Leyland in fray to supply, operate 1,200 e-buses

Tata Motors, BYD-Olectra, Ashok Leyland and PMI Electro Mobility Solutions are among manufacturers in the fray to supply and operate about 1,200 electric buses for different state departments, people aware of the development have said. The State transport utilities are floating tenders for about 5,500 electric buses and out of these bids about 1,200 busses have opened up so far. BYDbacked Olectra, a Chinese automobile maker has its eyes glued on the e-bus tenders in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Odisha. It is the lone bidder in Uttarakhand, Jaipur and Gujarat sources say. PMI Electro Mobility Solutions, Haryana-based , is known to have a technical tieup with Chinese commercial vehicle maker Beiqi Foton Motors, which is in the fray for Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Gujarat tenders. However, Ashok Leyland has bid for bus supply tender only in Gujarat, sources said.

NTPC is Working Strongly on Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure

NTPC, New Delhi state owned, quoted that it has started implementing on the electric vehicle charging infrastructure as electric mobility is ultimately going to help in future. The NTPC Executive Director shared his opinion that although electric vehicles are a good concept the major issue is with the life of the battery. He further said that NTPC is working strongly on the electric vehicle front for the charging networking side.  NTPC has previously mentioned that it has signed pacts with cab aggregates Ola, Lithium, Shuttl, Bikxie, Bounce, Electrie and Zoom Car for the creation of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. The collaboration with these aggregators will lead to development of charging infrastructure for various vehicle segments as well as effective utilisation of public charging infrastructure, NTPC had said.

Electric Vehicle fleet of Zoomcar covers 1 crore km in India: 10,000 EVs by 2021

Zoomcar has given an official statement that its fleet of electric vehicles has covered more than 1 crore kms in the last quarter. According to the company this is the largest electric shared mobility fleet in the country. The company has also said that by next year it is planning to add additional 1,000 electric vehicles to its fleet. Also, it is aiming to increase the number to 10,000 by 2021. The company further said that people are sceptical about buying an electric car is because they don’t understand the working or the technology behind it. Electric vehicles can play a major role reducing carbon emission and improving the air quality. Even if EVs were charged with 100% coal power, the overall pollution levels would still reduce by close to 25%. India can cumulatively save up to 1.5 gigatonnes of CO2 through 2035 if sharing and vehicle electrification is promoted. Also, the electric vehicles are much cheaper (75 – 80 per cent) if we consider fueling and maintenance cost.

Lightweight Rickshaws and Scooters Gives India a Seven-Year Edge Over the US in EV pricing

India is way forward in comparison to US when it comes to the prices of electric vehicle. It is said that by 2023, the prices of the electric vehicles will become equally competitive with the petrol and diesel vehicles, this competitive scenario will be witnessed in US only after seven years. “Markets like India that use smaller and lighter EVs are expected to become competitive well before markets where larger vehicles dominate,” said the report that was published last week. “Electric two- and three-wheelers are expected to become competitive on a capital cost basis by 2023, and will account for over 80% of such passenger vehicles sold by 2030 (in India),” states the report.

Delhi’s Odd-Even Scheme Will Not Include Electric Vehicles

A notice was issued by the Lt Governor of Delhi Rajeev Verma which states that, electric vehicles will not be included in the city’s odd-even scheme which is set to start from 8 am from Monday onwards. On the first day of the exercise, only even numbered vehicles will be allowed on the roads.    According to the odd-even scheme the odd numbered vehicles are allowed on the odd dates and even numbered vehicles are allowed on the even dates for which electric vehicles are exclude from this exercise.

EV Charging Points at Delhi Metro Station

Delhi’s Lt. Governor Anil Baijal insisted the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to install EV charging facilities at the metro stations. This is to promote the usage of electric cars in specially a state like Delhi where the pollution is at its peak. The government decided at the review meeting of the progress of implementation of multi-modal integration (MMI) plans on DMRC metro stations.

WagonR Electric to be Launched in 2021, Maruti Suzuki

Wagon R electric the first electric vehicle by Maruti Suzuki is going to be launched in 2021. Its launch has been postponed because of the doubts if electric cars will be accepted among Indian audience. As per the reports, the company has beliefs that the EV technology used in their electric car needs some more time before it could come out as a feasible and an affordable option. Moreover, the company has pointed out that there is a lack of infrastructure for electric vehicles hence, making it an impractical choice to cover long distances.