Electric Vehicle: A Natural Option for India?

Abstract

The paper is based on the findings of a study on the market potential of electric vehicle (EV) technologies in India. The study revealed that EV might be a more natural option right now in developing countries like India, than in developed countries. Given the warm climate, the current dire state of the environment in urban India, and the resource balance in India—the country has enough reserves of coal but not much oil—and the transportation needs and driving habits of its people (most of the personal transport vehicles are driven only twenty to forty kilometers a day), even a low-end EV technology appears to be economically viable and appropriate. This is established in the paper through concrete evidence of data on all of the above factors. However, adequate awareness about appropriateness of EV for the Indian market is not there among the country's policy makers, researchers, and industrialists. Indians traditionally look to the developed countries for automobile and other technologies, and since EV is not yet considered viable in most of the developed countries because of their vastly different driving habits and automobile culture, Indian decision makers erroneously take it for granted that EV is not viable for them either. It may be noted that more than 70% of personal transport vehicles in India are two wheelers with extremely polluting two-stroke engines. It is time now for policy makers, researchers, and industrialists of the country to change their mind set and explore the EV option seriously. Specific suggestions have been made in the paper on how this can be done and how India may be supported in these efforts by multilateral and bilateral aid agencies. These agencies can facilitate active technology cooperation between developed and developing countries, and help India develop and market appropriate electric vehicles, particularly electric two-wheelers. The India Government should also be encouraged to develop appropriate policies that would hasten the development and creation of viable EV markets. India may thus lead the world toward a path of sustainable development.