Identification and evaluation of barriers in implementation of electric mobility in India

Abstract

There is a worldwide movement towards the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions using renewable energy resources. Transportation is the main source of greenhouse gases, which are mostly contributed by fossil fuel driven automobiles. The entire world is now focusing on reducing the dependency on fossil fuels and switching over to the usage of electric vehicles. This initiative would result in alleviation of air pollution, reduction in dependence on oil imports and improved business opportunities for electric vehicle manufacturing industries. However, unlike developed countries, the electric vehicle market in India is quite sluggish on account of technological, social and economic barriers. In this paper, various barriers are identified through literature and interaction with domain experts. Subsequently a hybrid structural model, which is a combination of AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) and DEMATEL (Decision making trial and evaluation laboratory) is used to evaluate those barriers. The AHP method helped in assimilating the weights or importance of barriers. The DEMATEL approach established the interactive relationships among the barriers and categorized them into cause and effect groups. The findings would help the policy makers and manufacturers to develop strategies that would enhance the penetration of electric vehicles in Indian market.