Launched by Messe Frankfurt India, the E-Mobility India Forum, powered by NGV India Summit, succeeded in bringing the industry face-to-face to discuss the way forward for EVs. Consisting of members from top OEMs, auto component manufacturers and government, the forum highlighted various hurdles and opportunities that the industry is set to encounter on the road to achieving an expansive EV ecosystem.

The forum discussed topics, such as: the future of mobility post the conversion to EV; EV Incentives, Policy, Challenges & Government Support in accelerating electrification; Opportunities & Challenges for Auto OEMs; Accelerating EV Component Manufacturing Growth through Make in India; EV Infrastructure & Innovative Business Models, and Interactive Session with EV Startups and Future Guidance.

"When it comes to the success of e-mobility in India, I think we are on the way to becoming a big market for EV. OEMs, policy makers or infra companies converging together is creating a massive pull towards this movement and our responsibility as OEMs, is to give charging facility to our customers. The road to e-mobility is a marathon and we are just getting started. I am sure that in the coming years we will see it moving in a very positive direction," said Head of Dealer Development, Audi India, Balbir Singh Dhillon.

Opportunities in EV

According to a Grant Thornton Bharat-FICCI report, India will require around 4 lakh charging stations for around 20 lakh electric vehicles in the country by 2026. Investment in infrastructure and government support will play a significant role in fast-pacing the growth of e-mobility in India.

"In India, E-2Ws and E-3Ws have already achieved TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) neutral, Electric Bus and Shared E-4Ws will be next. Public transport, especially city transport with fixed routes and limited distance is very much suited for EVs," said Shri Sudhendu J Sinha, Advisor, Infrastructure Connectivity & Electric Mobility vertical, NITI AayogSinha.

"Massive opportunity is available to create dense network of charge points to charge electric vehicles in Tier-1, 2 & 3 cities. Recent policy announcements, re-strategizing of Faster Adaption of Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme of INR 10,000 Crore, PLI scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) worth INR 18,100 crore and the new PLI scheme for automotive sector with incentives worth INR 26000 Cr for a period of five years will enable India to leapfrog from traditional fossil fuel-based automobile transportation system to environmentally cleaner, sustainable, advanced and more efficient Electric Vehicles (EV) based system," said Sinha.