EMobility+ India January 2021

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JANUARY 2021 SPECIAL

EV FLEETS IN INDIA ALL YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT EV FLEET BUSINESS & TECH TRENDS

TRENDING STORIES

ELECTRIC VEHICLE FLEET TRENDS 2020: WHAT HAVE BEEN THE MAJOR FACTORS THAT IMPACTED FLEET ELECTRIFICATION IN INDIA AS THE COUNTRY BATTLED THE PANDEMIC?

HOW ARE FLEET OPERATORS LIKELY TO GAIN AS DELHI'S EV POLICY AIMS TO ELECTRIFY 50% 2W FLEET OF DELIVERY COMPANIES BY MARCH 2023?

CONT PERSPECTIVE STORIES

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ELECTRIC VEHICLE FLEET TRENDS 2020: WHAT HAVE BEEN THE MAJOR FACTORS THAT IMPACTED FLEET ELECTRIFICATION IN INDIA AS THE COUNTRY BATTLED THE PANDEMIC? HOW ARE FLEET OPERATORS LIKELY TO GAIN AS DELHI'S EV POLICY AIMS TO ELECTRIFY 50% 2W FLEET OF DELIVERY COMPANIES BY MARCH 2023?

INSIGHTS

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TOP EMERGING TRENDS IN EVS

EV ADOPTION STRATEGY FOR FLEET: WHAT ARE THE WAYS AND STRATEGIES TO TACKLE COMPLEX FLEET ELECTRIFICATION CHALLENGES?

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HOW TELEMATICS HELPS IN USING REALTIME INFORMATION TO MAKE EFFICIENT DECISIONS ABOUT YOUR FLEET?

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POWERING AHEAD: UTILITIES EVOLVING ROLE IN EV CHARGING LANDSCAPE

34

EMERGENCE OF NEW VALUE POOLS AS COMMERCIAL FLEET OPERATORS PUT EV IN THE FAST LANE

TENT POLICY DEBEIEF

INDIA NEWS

07

08

IN CONVERSATION

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17 NISHANT SAINI

SAURAV KUMAR

Founder & MD, EEE Taxi

Founder & CEO, Euler Motors

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PRODUCT FEATURE

31

PARESH PATEL

VERDEMOBILITY

CEO and Founder, System Level Solutions/VerdeMobility

INSIGHTS

36

FUEL CELLS AND ITS ROLE IN INDIA'S FUTURE ENERGY AND MOBILITY SPACE

COMPANY FEATURE

39

EV FLEET OUTLOOK 2021

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E-MOBILITY+ INDIA

POLICYDEBRIEF

GOVERNMENT: CENTRAL

SECI Issues Clarifications to The EOI for Agencies for Development of Electric / Transformative Mobility Space Earlier SECI had Extended the Deadline in EOI Submission for identification and empanelment of agencies for development of Electric / Transformative Mobility Space.

Scope of work of successful agencies includes in demand creation, demand aggregation, setting up charging infrastructure, introduction of new and innovative products, market development, capacity building etc for three years.

GOVERNMENT: STATE

Nitin Gadkari Says Vehicle Scrappage Policy Likely To Be Approved Soon The much-delayed Vehicle Scrappage Policy is likely to get the green signal from the government. This is according to the Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari, who was speaking at the recent ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Innovation Challenge 2020-21’ event. In an effort to spur adoption of electric vehicles and also reduce pollution levels, on July 26, 2019, the government proposed amendments to existing motor vehicle norms to allow scrapping of vehicles older than 15 years. A final call in this regard, however, will be taken by the Prime Minister's Office, which had earlier sent the proposed policy for a fresh round of consultation with stakeholders.

Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Bids Invited For Kochi Water Metro

Tariff Of ₹6 Set By Rajasthan For Public Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

The Kochi Metro Rail Limited, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) formed between the central government and the Kerala government, has invited bids for electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) for its water metro project in Kochi, Kerala. The bidders will have to do design, engineering, testing of manufacturer’s works, procurement, quality assurance, packing, erection including performance testing, and commissioning of fast charging DC EVSE of capacity 150 kW with CCS2 gun (200A continuous) including all fixtures, fittings and mounting accessories as per technical specification in the boat terminals. The project will be partly funded by the German funding agency KFW and the Kerala government. The last date to submit the bids is February 22, 2021. Bids will be opened on February 24. The pre-bid meeting will take place on January 20.

The Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission (RERC) has issued a draft order for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, tariffs, and other regulatory issues. As per the draft order, a tariff of ₹6 applies to public charging stations (PCS) under two categories: LT-8 and HT-6. The tariff also applies to battery charging stations (BCS) and battery swapping stations (BSS). The order permits a 15% rebate for PCS during off-peak hours between 11 PM and 6 AM. This draft order comes with a ‘regulatory framework for promoting electric vehicles and their impact on the grid,’ referred to by RERC as a concept paper on EVs. According to the draft order, setting up a public charging stations would be a de-licensed activity, and any individual or entity is free to set it up, provided that such stations meet the technical and performance standards and protocol laid down by the Ministry of Power (MoP) and Central Electricity Authority (CEA) from time to time.

JANUARY 2021 ISSUE

PG 7

E-MOBILITY+ INDIA

NEWS BRIEFS

PARTNERSHIPS

VoltUp Partners With HPCL For Battery Swapping Centres

Ola Partners With Siemens To Build 'India's Most Advanced EV Manufacturing Hub' In Tamil Nadu

Electric two and three-wheeler battery swapping solutions start-up VoltUp said it has partnered with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) for opening battery swapping centres. The partnership is looking to open 50 battery swapping solutions centres across India in the next six months. The first two centres have been unveiled in Jaipur, the company said in a statement.

The partnership aims at leveraging the countrywide network of HPCL, technological advancements of VoltUp in the field of battery swapping technologies, and shared synergies of improving the urban mobility by keeping it at pace with the conventional usage system. With a quick to use smart battery swapping networks being set up under tie-up with HPCL, it will promote the end-users to find a fully charged battery within their neighbourhood

Ola announced that it has joined hands with Siemens to build India’s most advanced electric vehicle manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu. It signed a 2,400crore-deal with the Tamil Nadu government to set up its first factory in the state last month. It will be the world’s largest scooter manufacturing facility, which will initially have an annual capacity of 2 million units.

From raw materials to materials movement inside the factory, to storage, to the finished scooter rolling off the production lines and being loaded onto trucks, the entire material handling at Ola’s factory will be fully automated for maximum efficiency. The factory will produce Ola’s upcoming range of two wheeler products starting with Ola’s electric scooter. It features many firsts including a seamless design, unique removable banana battery that is easy to carry and can be charged anywhere as well as intelligent software that elevates the entire consumer experience of owning a scooter.

Volkswagen Strengthens Position In Value Chain Of Lucrative Used Vehicles Segment In India Following the news that Volkswagen Finance Pvt. Ltd. (VWFPL) India, part of Volkswagen Financial Services, has acquired a majority stake in Chennai-based automotive fintech platform KUWY Technology; Animesh Kumar, Director of Automotive Consulting at GlobalData, a leading research and consulting company, offers his view: “A key component of VW Group’s India 2.0 strategy, which targets sustainable growth in India, is to grow the used car business. VW’s subsidiary Skoda launched its certified preowned vehicle business in October 2020 to enter organized used car business in India. The company had already invested in KUWY in September 2019, acquiring 25% stake.

KUWY Technology simplifies auto financing through end-toend digital loan approval, processing and disbursal. It offers digital financing capabilities and claims to have the largest automotive dealer and lender network. It has expertise in the pre-owned car financing business. These capabilities will help VWFPL to expand both its new and used car financing business and will be able to offer value added services through digital channels.”

JANUARY 2021 ISSUE

PG 8

E-MOBILITY+ INDIA

INSIGHTS:

KPIT Receives An Important Strategic Large Deal From BMW Group For The Next Generation Charging Electronics Program KPIT, a leading independent software development and integration partner to the automotive industry – announced signing of a large-scale order with BMW Group. The combined powertrain coordination unit is designed to power the next generation power electronics architecture of BMW Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV’s) and involves software development, integration, and maintenance. As part of the strategic collaboration, KPIT has been nominated as the single source software integration partner for the next generation 11KW combined charging electronics program powering the upcoming BEV’s of BMW Group. MicroFuzzy and KPIT will perform the role of a strategic software partner and will be responsible for complete development, integration, validation and series software maintenance, to accelerate the technologies a future electric vehicle requires.

India’s EV Market To Grow At CAGR Of 44% Between 2020-2027 India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA), India’s leading alliance on energy storage & e-mobility released its 2nd annual “India Electric Vehicle Market Overview Report 2020-2027” for the India Market. The report provides an insight into the EV battery market, its sales figures by EV segments. Battery capacity (GWh) and revenue (INR Cr) forecast till 2027. The EV sales in India stood at 3,80,000 in 2019-20, and the EV battery market stood at 5.4GWh during the year. In the base case scenario, the EV market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 44% between 20202027 is expected to hit 6.34-million-unit annual sales by 2027. The annual battery demand is forecasted to grow at 32% to hit 50GWh by 2027, of this, 40+GWh will be on lithium-ion batteries. The estimated battery market potential is $580 million in 2019 and is forecasted to grow to $14.9 billion by 2027. Going forward, for the exponential growth of this segment, the market is demanding for quality two-wheelers, which can compete with ICE vehicles in terms of both cost and performance.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Looks To Increase Localization, Reduce Costs And Grow SUV Sales In India Following the news that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has announced an investment of US$250m to increase sales volumes and enhance portfolio in the lucrative SUV segment in India; Animesh Kumar, Director of Automotive and Travel & Tourism Consulting at GlobalData, a leading research and consulting company, offers his view: “Through the investment, which is in addition to the US$450m invested by the company in India over the past five years, the company intends to introduce next generation Jeep Compass, a three-row SUV, as well as locally assembled Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Cherokee.

The inclusion of new vehicles in the portfolio and local manufacturing/assembling will help the company enhance the Jeep brand, increase localization, reduce costs and boost sales.”

JANUARY 2021 ISSUE

PG 9

E-MOBILITY+ INDIA

INSIGHTS:

Ashok Leyland’s Sequential Quarter Revenues Jumps 3.4 Times. Net Debt In Q2 Reduces From Rs. 4284 Cr To Rs. 3076 Cr. Posts A Positive EBITDA of 2.8% Ashok Leyland, flagship of the Hinduja Group reported a 3.4 time increase in sequential quarter revenues in Q2 FY21. The revenues for the quarter stood at Rs. 2837 crores as against Rs. 651 crores in Q1 FY21 and Rs. 3929 crores in Q2 FY20. The Company reported a positive EBITDA of 2.8% for Q2 FY21 against an EBITDA of -51.2% in Q1 FY21. The company also generated Rs 1208 Crores of cash from operations after capital expenditure and investments, which has helped the company bring down net debt to Rs 3076 Crores from Rs 4,284 Crores in Q1 FY21 further strengthening the balance sheet of the company. Debt equity has reduced from 0.6 times at the end of June ’20 to 0.5 times as of end of Sep ’20. Following the successful launch of its Modular Platform AVTR, the company continued its planned product launches of the Bada Dost in the Phoenix Platform in the LCV segment and Boss LE and LX in the ICV segment. All these products were launched with the innovative I-gen6 (Mid-NOx) technology powertrain. They have been very well received by customers and have helped the company increase its market presence. Going forward we expect Q3 and Q4 to be much better quarters.

India Could Save Over INR 1 Lakh Crore Annually In Crude Oil Imports With Increased EV Penetration India could save on crude oil imports worth over INR 1 lakh crore (USD 14 billion) annually if electric vehicles (EVs) were to garner 30 per cent share of India’s new vehicle sales by 2030, according to an independent study released today by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). The increase in electric vehicles penetration could also increase the combined market size of powertrain, battery and public chargers to over INR 2 lakh crore (USD 28 billion), in addition to creating 120,000 new jobs in this sector. The CEEW study, supported by the Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, also found that meeting the 30 per cent EV penetration target in 2030 could lead to several environmental benefits including a 17 per cent decrease each in primary particulate matter and nitrogen oxide and dioxide (NOx) emissions, 18 per cent reduction in carbon monoxide emissions, and a 4 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions relative to the business as usual scenario (BAU).

JANUARY 2021 ISSUE

Okaya Won EESL’s Order ; To Install 1020 EV Charging Stations Across India Okaya has won the order to deploy 1020 multi strand EV charging stations across India. The EV charging stations that will be installed would be CCS, CHAdeMO, and Bharat specification Protocol. As one of the largest manufacturers of lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries and a leading supplier of EV charging stations in India, Okaya Power has already deployed more than 500 EV charging stations in the past six months and 250 MWh battery energy storage systems (BESS) solution across the country. The company stated in their official statement that “All these efforts of Okaya are intended towards contributing its bit in making ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ mission a success”.

Magenta Launches The Associate Program For Deploying Nationwide Low Cost EV Charging Platform Magenta, a pioneer in the business of clean mobility and clean electricity has launched its nationwide business associate outreach program starting December 2020.

Under this initiative, Magenta will identify associates across India to deploy low cost electric vehicle charging platforms. The 3-stage program will commence with partner training in EV technology, EV charging and supporting IT infrastructure. In further stages, Magenta will create a sales, deployment and support backend for 2W, 3W and 4W charging across India. Under the ChargeGrid brand, Magenta has already done EV charger installation and deployment for various private and government organizations across 19 states and union territories in India.

With this outreach program, Magenta is targeting to increase its EV charging support network across 300 districts in India.

PG 10

E-MOBILITY+ INDIA

TCS Launches The Autoscape™ Solution Suite To Help Deliver Next-Gen Autonomous And Connected Vehicle Experiences Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has launched the Autoscape™ solution suite to enable connected and autonomous vehicle ecosystem players – such as automotive OEMs, suppliers, fleet owners and startups – to pursue new business models, launch new services quickly and deliver differentiated experiences and value to end-customers. Autoscape comprehensively addresses the technology and business challenges that these programs entail, like petabyte-scale driving data collection and analysis, development, validation and deployment of algorithms which guide autonomous vehicles in the real world.

The Autoscape Autonomous Vehicle (AV) solution suite covers the entire end-to-end AV development value chain, and consists of AV Data Services, a Data Annotation Studio and AV validation services.

Through AV Data Services, TCS offers comprehensive compute infrastructure architecture, a data management solution, AI workbench, and toolkits to accelerate AV development.

Electric Two Wheelers Witness Tepid Growth Despite Govt’s Subsidy, Near-Term Outlook Largely Remains Unchanged: ICRA Survey The demand and volumes of electric two wheelers (e-2W)s have witnessed a very lackadaisical growth in recent years and despite the government’s thrust on adoption of electric vehicles (EV).As per the findings of a nationwide survey of 16 e-2W dealerships in November, the stringent eligibility criteria set for claiming the subsidy under the second phase of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME-II), GoI’s flagship scheme, have been a deterrent – mainly due to a minimum localisation requirement and exclusion of lead-acid based e-2W for subsidy. In addition, lack of consumer awareness (regarding Government subsidy), low acceptability led by lack of product knowledge and after-sales service concerns have been dominant reasons for the scheme’s lacklustre performance. However, ICRA expects 15-17% Y-o-Y contraction in domestic 2W volumes in FY2021, amid an evolving pandemic situation, persisting health concerns and economic uncertainties. In H1 FY2021, the actual 2W wholesale sales volumes were 38% lower on a Y-o-Y basis. Nonetheless, the Government’s thrust on adoption of EVs, increasing awareness towards public health and clean energy continue to favour EV adoption in the long run.

JANUARY 2021 ISSUE

PG 12

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BUZZ

For 2020 Tata Nexon EV Emerged As The Bestselling Electric Car In India Backed by the Nexon brand name, safety, and modern styling, the Nexon EV has emerged as a popular choice in the Indian market. Also, the Nexon EV is also the most affordable electric SUV in the Indian market. In terms of cumulative sales, 4,003 electric vehicle units were sold in the 2020. Introduced in January 2020, Tata Motors sold 2,529 units of the Nexon EV in India, thereby claiming a market share of 63.2 per cent.

MG Set To Launch An EV Under Rs 20 Lakh MG is bringing in a new electric vehicle priced lower than Rs 20 lakh by the end of next year (2022). Presently, MG’s ZS EV is its sole electric offering priced from Rs 20.88 lakh to Rs 23.58 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The ZS EV gets a 44.5kWh battery pack and an electric motor that produces 143PS and 353Nm of peak torque. It offers a range of 340 kilometres on a single charge. MG is also planning to introduce a bigger battery pack option for the ZS EV, which could offer a range of around 500 kilometres. It will be rated at 73kWh, a lot bigger than the current one.

Electric Car Manufacturer Tesla To Enter India And May Park In Gujarat Gujarat has made a strong pitch to invite Tesla to set up base in the state which has emerged as a preferred destination for global automobile giants. Tesla, which is setting up its research and development centre in Bengaluru, is in touch with a few states, including Gujarat, to start India operations. Tesla is set to begin its India journey with its highest-selling Model 3, before the premium Model S and model X, which would be available later in the year and in early 2022. However, the India arrival dates and prices have not been revealed by Tesla which now has a registered office in Bangalore. The company is also in talks with other states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh to set up its facility.

JANUARY 2021 ISSUE

MG Inaugurates Agra’s First Superfast 60 KW EV Charging Station MG Motor India has now launched Agra’s first 60 kW Superfast EV charging station in partnership with Tata Power. The public charging station was inaugurated at MG Agra Showroom as a part of #NHforEV2020 tech trial run flagged off in Delhi. The public charger will be available 24×7 for customers and comes with CCS/CHAdeMO fastcharging standards.The inauguration came as an extension of the Tech Trial Run conducted from Delhi to Agra, which was flagged off by senior government dignitaries at India Gate. The convoy of vehicles completed its journey at the MG showroom in Agra on the same day with the ZS EV covering the Delhi-Agra journey in a single charge.

ABB Launches New Series Of HighOutput Motors In India Expanding its portfolio with high-output series motors, ABB has launched a new range of M3BP motors for its industrial customers in India. Offered in 280 – 355 frame size and output ranging from 75kW to 560kW, these reliable and tough made-in-India process performance motors deliver higher output than the defined standard of the same frame size standard motors.Designed and built in line with the M3BP motors that are currently available at ABB’s global factories, these process performance motors are used to power heavy duty applications in tough environments and to operate critical processes with minimum downtime.

Available in a wide range of variants and accessory options, the M3BP motors are fit for purpose to provide the most cost efficient and sustainable solution based on customers’ needs.

Electric Vehicle Assembly At India Gate To Perform TECH-Trial Run Of E-Highway Tech piloting company for Ease of Doing Business of emerging technologies ASSAR (Advance Services for Social and Administrative Reforms) organized assembly of Electric vehicles at India Gate for The Tech-Trial Run on Yamuna Expressway between Delhi – Agra under National Highway for Electric Vehicle (NHEV) project to make it India’s first and world’s longest 210 km E-Highway. The NHEV TECH-Trial Run assembly successfully demonstrated all its components to deliver its groundbreaking deliveries for people who will travel from Delhi to Agra in Electric vehicles on this new E-Highway.30 Minutes, 30% Percent and 3 years are three vital takeaways of NHEV project.

Because every electric vehicle will get automated technical back up on this e-highway in 30 minutes if breakdown, fleet operators will get vehicles in 30% lesser price due to battery subscription and within 3 years CAPEX spent on civil and electric infra of charging stations will reach its breakeven with their 30% utilization.

PG 13

INCONVERSATION

NISHANT SAINI FOUNDER & MD, EEE TAXI

E Mo b i l i t y + i n t e r v i e we d Mr . Ni s h a n t S a i n i , F o u n d e r & MD, E E E T a x i wh e r e i n h e s h a r e d i n s i g h t s o n t h e c o mp a n y ’ s t e c h n o l o g i c a l a d v a n c e me n t s a n d k e y t a k e a wa y s f r o m l a s t y e a r a l o n g wi t h t h e c o mp a n y ’ s f u t u r e g r o wt h p l a n s a n d E V s e c t o r outlook.

Please tell our readers about how the year has been for EEE Taxi especially with the pandemic? What have been some key takeaways?

Th e y e a r 2 0 2 0 h a d a n u n p r e c e d e n t e d i mp a c t o v e r a l l spheres of life – businesses, s o c i e t y , e c o n o my . Th e Go v e r n me n t i mp o s e d t h e mo s t s t r i c t l o c k d o wn t o a r r e s t g r o wt h o f t h e c o v i d r e l a t e d c a s e s . We b e i n g i n t h e mo b i l i t y s p a c e we r e o n e o f t h e wo r s t i mp a c t e d s e c t o r s . Ho we v e r , wi t h s u p p o r t o f o u r t e a m a n d d r i v e r p a r t n e r s , we ma n a g e d t o o n b o a r d 4 n e w c l i e n t s . Ou r s t r o n g t e a m d i d c o r p o r a t e a c q u i s i t i o n s , we launched operations in Be n g a l u r u – I n d i a ’ s I T Hu b a n d invested heavily in our technology innovation and changed our Standard operating p r o c e d u r e s a s p e r t h e P o s t Co v i d wo r l d .

T h e p a n d e mi c h a s ma d e u s mo r e r e s i l i e n t a n d we h a v e e me r g e d s t r o n g e r . T h e g r o wt h p a t h a h e a d is adventurous. I think the age o l d a d a g e , “ wh a t d o e s n ’ t k i l l y o u ma k e s y o u s t r o n g e r ” h o l d s t r u e f o r u s . Wi t h s u p p o r t o f o u r t e a m we s h a l l b e b u i l d i n g b a c k b e t t e r a sustainable ecosystem for e mo b i l i t y i n I n d i a .

JANUARY 2021 ISSUE

WHILE THE YEAR 2020 WAS FULL OF CHALLENGES, IT PROVIDED US AN OPPORTUNITY TO SET OUR PROCESSES RIGHT. THIS YEAR WE ARE PLANNING TO GROW THREE FOLD.

According to you, what steps should the policymakers take to strengthen the EV ecosystem in the country?

Th e p o l i c y ma k e r s n e e d t o b r i n g i n t e r v e n t i o n a t mu l t i p l e s t a g e s f o r b e t t e r a d o p t i o n o f E V s . Th e s e c t o r needs intervention by banking institutions as conventional f u n d i n g me c h a n i s ms a r e n o t s u f f i c i e n t t o f i n a n c e E Vs f o r l o n g e r d u r a t i o n . Th e c h a r g i n g infrastructure needs to be r e v a mp e d .

Al t h o u g h we h a v e o u r o wn c h a r g i n g s t a t i o n s h o we v e r , f o r opportunity charging and destination charging, due to lack o f i n t e r o p e r a b i l i t y a mo n g CP Os , our driver partners have to juggle

between multiple mobile applications. State Governments can exempt state toll tax like MCD Tax, UP Tax or unify tax for NCR region.

The government should also create more awareness.

Enforcement agencies and traffic police often impound vehicles for not carrying Permit Vehicles whereas Permit requirement has been exempted for EVs. The fitness test should be conducted at an interval of four years rather than the current two years. The DISCOMS should also follow EV Tariff and EV Policy in letter and spirit. Today, sanctioning LT or HT load for EV Charging Station requires one to apply at multiple offices causing time and cost overruns.

The sector needs intervention by banking institutions as conventional funding mechanisms are not sufficient to finance EVs for longer duration.

PG 14

What is your growth plan for this year 2021?

How do you think the EV sector is going to shape up in India in the next 5 years?

While the year 2020 was full of challenges, it provided us an opportunity to set our processes right.

This year we are planning to grow three fold. We have optimised our operations in cities like Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Faridabad, Noida, Secunderabad, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. We shall be launching in 5 more cities this year. We are also planning to introduce high end EVs with enhanced range and safety in our fleet for better customer experience.

I believe that the next 5 years in the EV sector is very b r i g h t a n d p r o mi s i n g . As p e r S ME V Re p o r t , E V s a l e s , e x c l u d i n g e - r i c k s h a ws , g r e w b y 2 0 % i n I n d i a i n 2 0 1 9 2 0 2 0 . T h e I E S A r e p o r t s h a r e s o p t i mi s m wi t h t h e E V ma r k e t b y p r o j e c t i n g a CAGR o f 4 4 % f o r t h e n e x t 1 0 y e a r s . Va r i o u s S t a t e Go v e r n me n t s l i k e De l h i , T e l a n g a n a , T a mi l Na d u , K a r n a t a k a h a v e b e e n a c t i v e l y i n t r o d u c i n g E V P o l i c i e s . Th e Ce n t r a l Go v e r n me n t t o o h a s b e e n a c t i v e l y a u g me n t i n g E V Ch a r g i n g I n f r a b y introducing fresh tender to set up over 1200 charging S t a t i o n s a c r o s s Na t i o n a l Hi g h wa y s a n d e x p r e s s wa y s .

Va r i o u s a u t o ma n u f a c t u r e s l i k e Hy u n d a i , K i a , Me r c e d e s , B MW, Ma h i n d r a h a v e e i t h e r l a u n c h e d v e h i c l e s wi t h b e t t e r r a n g e o r a r e g o i n g t o i n t r o d u c e E V v a r i a n t s o f t h e i r t o p p e r f o r mi n g c a r s . Th i s wo u l d p r o v i d e t h e c o n s u me r mo r e o p t i o n s t o c h o o s e f r o m a n d s h u n a wa y t h e i r c o n c e r n s r e l a t e d t o r a n g e anxiety.

What are some technology advancements that you have made in the recent years that you plan to grow further in the coming years?

At e e e – T a x i we h a v e ma d e l a r g e i n v e s t me n t s i n t e c h n o l o g y . We u s e S AL E S F ORCE a s a CR M. We a r e u s i n g t e l e ma t i c s t o g a t h e r i n f o r ma t i o n l i k e v e h i c l e l o c a t i o n t r a c k i n g , d r i v e r b e h a v i o u r mo n i t o r i n g , r o u t e p l a n n i n g , R e a l T i me S OC l e v e l , Re a l Ti me Od o me t e r r e a d i n g s , Ge o – f e n c e b a s e d a l e r t s , v e h i c l e s p e e d , T r i p h i s t o r y e t c . Ou r f l e e t ma n a g e me n t s o f t wa r e e n a b l e s u s t o a c c e s s a l l d o c u me n t s l i k e i n s u r a n c e , R C, Ga z e t t e d No t i f i c a t i o n f o r P e r mi t , ma i n t e n a n c e s c h e d u l e e t c Al l o u r v e h i c l e s h a v e F AS Ta g . T h e v e h i c l e s a r e t r a c k e d a t t h e c o mma n d c e n t r e . Al l v e h i c l e s a r e f i t t e d wi t h e me r g e n c y a l e r t s y s t e ms a n d S OS P a n i c B u t t o n f o r e n h a n c e d p a s s e n g e r s a f e t y a n d s e c u r i t y . Ou r i n t e g r a t e d b i l l i n g s y s t e m e n a b l e s u s t o g e n e r a t e i n s t a n t T a x I n v o i c e a t t h e e n d o f a t r i p . As a c o mp a n y we a r e c o mmi t t e d t o b e t t e r a d o p t i o n o f t e c h n o l o g y e n c o mp a s s i n g E V, j o u r n e y a n d t r i p ma n a g e me n t .

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I believe that the next 5 years in the EV sector is very bright and promising. As per SMEV Report, EV sales, excluding e-rickshaws, grew by 20% in India in 2019-2020.

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INCONVERSATION

SAURAV KUMAR FOUNDER & CEO, EULER MOTORS

E Mo b i l i t y + i n t e r v i e we d Mr .

S a u r a v K u ma r , F o u n d e r & CE O, E u l e r Mo t o r s a n d f o u n d o u t a b o u t t h e c o mp a n y ’ s E V j o u r n e y , b u s i n e s s u n d e r Co v i d , h o w t h e c o mp a n y h a s b e e n s u c c e s s f u l i n p r o v i d i n g l a s t mi l e d e l i v e r y solutions and future expansion plans.

Please tell us about the journey of the Euler Motors EV business. How did it all begin and how has the journey been so far?

E u l e r Mo t o r s i s a n a u t o mo t i v e OE M, f o c u s e d o n l i g h t c o mme r c i a l e l e c t r i c v e h i c l e s f o r i n t r a - c i t y t r a n s p o r t a t i o n . Ou r j o u r n e y b e g a n i n 2 0 1 8 , wi t h t h e objective to accelerate the c o u n t r y ’ s p r o g r e s s t o wa r d s sustainable transport.

Ou r p r i o r i t y wa s t o e n s u r e t h a t c u s t o me r s b e c o me c o mf o r t a b l e wi t h t r a n s i t i o n i n g t o E Vs . We h a v e r u n s u c c e s s f u l p i l o t s wi t h s e v e r a l e c o mme r c e p l a y e r s s u c h a s Bi g Ba s k e t , E c o mE x p r e s s a n d Ud a a n , t h a t a l l o we d t h e m t o experience the benefits of e l e c t r i c v e h i c l e s . I n a d d i t i o n , we developed supporting infrastructure like charging stations, 24x7 service support to o p e r a t e t h e s e E Vs s mo o t h l y o n the road.

We a r e n o w g e a r e d u p f o r t h e launch of our first electric threewh e e l e r v e h i c l e i n t h e f i r s t q u a r t e r o f 2 0 2 1 . We wi l l e x p a n d o u r ma r k e t a n d a d d mo r e c u s t o me r s f r o m v a r i o u s s e g me n t s .

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"WHILE OUR BUSINESS TOOK A 35% HIT AT THE START OF THE PANDEMIC OUTBREAK, WE REACHED PRE-COVID LEVELS WITHIN A MONTH AND COMPLETED OVER 1 LAKH DELIVERIES IN DELHI-NCR, SEEING AN ALMOST 170-200% INCREASE IN DEMAND." How has the business been under COVID? Any key learnings?

2 0 2 0 wa s u n p a r a l l e l e d f o r n o t j u s t u s , b u t t h e o v e r a l l i n d u s t r y . Th e e c o mme r c e c o mp a n i e s p i l o t i n g wi t h u s s a w a 1 5 - 2 0 % i n c r e a s e i n t h e i r s a l e s , a n d o u r v e h i c l e s we r e supporting their doorstep deliveries round the clock, seven d a y s a we e k . Be t we e n Ma r c h a n d De c e mb e r 2 0 2 0 , o u r v e h i c l e s clocked about five lakhs+ d e l i v e r i e s i n De l h i / NCR a n d serviced over 2.5 lakh+ c u s t o me r s . Mo r e o v e r , o u r v e h i c l e s we r e a b l e t o r e d u c e t h e c a r b o n e mi s s i o n s t o o v e r 2 0 0 t o n n e s .

T h e p a n d e mi c c r e a t e d a precarious situation disrupting our supply chains across India and abroad and delayed our product l a u n c h p l a n s . Ho we v e r , i t a l s o ma d e u s i n t r o s p e c t a n d b e resilient to ensure business c o n t i n u i t y . We f o c u s e d o n n e w d e v e l o p me n t s i n s o f t wa r e a n d

t e l e ma t i c s e n a b l i n g s u c c e s s f u l r e mo t e o p e r a t i o n s t h r o u g h o u t the year.

Wh i l e o u r b u s i n e s s t o o k a 3 5 % h i t a t t h e s t a r t o f t h e p a n d e mi c o u t b r e a k , we r e a c h e d p r e - COVI D l e v e l s wi t h i n a mo n t h a n d c o mp l e t e d o v e r 1 L a k h d e l i v e r i e s i n De l h i - NCR, s e e i n g a n a l mo s t 1 7 0 - 2 0 0 % i n c r e a s e i n d e ma n d .

Al o n g wi t h t h i s , t h e d e ma n d f o r mo r e v e h i c l e s i n t h e l a s t mi l e delivery space has increased by a l mo s t 5 0 - 1 0 0 % a s e c o mme r c e c o mp a n i e s wa n t t o me e t t h e surge in doorstep deliveries.

What are your future plans on expanding further beyond the NCR region for the upcoming year?

Ou r f i r s t e l e c t r i c t h r e e - wh e e l e r i s s e t f o r a ma r k e t l a u n c h i n Q1 2 0 2 1 . Ou r p r i o r i t y wi l l b e t o s c a l e u p p r o d u c t i o n t o me e t t h e d e ma n d s i n t h e e l e c t r i c t h r e e wh e e l e r s e g me n t ma r k e t s .

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We wa n t t o e x p a n d o u r ma r k e t r e a c h wi t h c i t i e s l i k e Ba n g a l o r e , Hy d e r a b a d , P u n e a n d Ch e n n a i . Wi t h o u r n e w v e h i c l e s , we wa n t t o e x p a n d o u r e x i s t i n g c u s t o me r b a s e a n d target new sectors such as fashion, retail, F MCG, p h a r ma , a n d u t i l i t y .

d o wn f u r t h e r , wh i c h wi l l h e l p a c h i e v e t h e mu c h - n e e d e d p r i c e p a r i t y f o r E Vs . We a l s o e x p e c t t h e g o v e r n me n t t o i n c e n t i v i z e L i - On b a t t e r y ma n u f a c t u r i n g a n d a c h i e v e a significant degree of standardization to have battery packs that suit Indian conditions.

We a r e p l a n n i n g t o e x p a n d o u r c h a r g i n g n e t wo r k i n De l h i NCR , f o l l o we d b y a p r o d u c t i o n f a c i l i t y a n d a d d n e w R&D c a p a b i l i t i e s f o r t e l e ma t i c s a n d f o r e c a s t i n g s o f t wa r e s o l u t i o n s i n o u r s e r v i c e s .

We e x p e c t s u p p o r t i v e p o l i c i e s a n d p r o g r a ms t h a t wo u l d b e i mp l e me n t e d t o f a s t - f o r wa r d t h e a d o p t i o n o f E Vs i n I n d i a a n d c u r b p o l l u t i o n wo e s . Th e n e x t y e a r wi l l h e l p d r i v e a mo r e c o l l e c t e d v i e w o n h o w I n d i a ’ s e l e c t r i f i c a t i o n wi l l mo v e f o r wa r d . OE Ms a n d g o v e r n me n t s n e e d t o i mp l e me n t i n t a n d e m f o r e a s e o f s o u r c i n g , ma n u f a c t u r i n g , a n d financing in the EV value chain, so that there i s mo r e c o n f i d e n c e a mo n g t h e b u y e r s t o p u r c h a s e E Vs .

According to you, what are the benefits of using EVs for the last mile delivery?

E l e c t r i c v e h i c l e s i n t h e l a s t mi l e d e l i v e r y i s a wi n - wi n s o l u t i o n f o r b u s i n e s s e s a n d s o c i e t y .

Th e l o we r TCOs a n d o p e r a t i n g c o s t s ma k e them an attractive choice, a trend that has seen an uptick in the last few years. A c o mme r c i a l e l e c t r i c v e h i c l e o p e r a t e s o n 1/6th of the running cost of a petrol/ dieselfueled vehicle, bringing financial benefits f o r c o mp a n i e s . I t a l s o h e l p s t o mi n i mi z e pollution from carbon tailpipes by 13 tons p e r 1 0 0 k m.

To i n c r e a s e u p t a k e o f E Vs i n i n t r a - c i t y mo v e me n t , OE Ms s h o u l d f o c u s o n developing vehicles that are as effective as a n y I CE v e h i c l e t o ma n a g e i d e n t i c a l p a y l o a d s a n d c o v e r mo r e d i s t a n c e a t a l o we r c o s t .

Finally, what is your outlook on the EV sector for the next 5 years?

I n d i a wi l l s e e a n i n c r e a s e i n i t s e l e c t r i c f l e e t i n t h e c o mi n g y e a r s . E Vs a r e s e t t o p l a y a mu c h l a r g e r r o l e a s c u s t o me r s a n d f l e e t o wn e r s r e a l i z e t h e i r e c o n o mi c a n d e c o l o g i c a l b e n e f i t s . We f e e l t h a t t wo a n d t h r e e - wh e e l e r s wi l l d r i v e a s t r o n g e l e c t r i c v e h i c l e d e ma n d t r e n d i n t h e n e x t t wo y e a r s .

We wi l l s e e a t i p p i n g p o i n t wh e r e t h e c u r v e of EV adoption starts to accelerate over the next few years.

Ov e r t h e n e x t t wo y e a r s , t h e E V s p a c e i s s e t t o g o t h r o u g h ma n y e v o l u t i o n s i n t e r ms o f a d v a n c e d v e h i c l e s a n d b a t t e r y t e c h . Ba t t e r y prices have been drastically reduced in the l a s t d e c a d e , a n d we e x p e c t t h e m t o c o me

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PERSPECTIVE ELECTRIC VEHICLE FLEET TRENDS 2020: WHAT HAVE BEEN THE MAJOR FACTORS THAT IMPACTED FLEET ELECTRIFICATION IN INDIA AS THE COUNTRY BATTLED THE PANDEMIC?

Electrification has been a fundamental element of the transition towards clean mobility.

Integrating electric or hybrid electric vehicles into the fleet portfolio helps address sustainability and environmental goals. As environmental regulations will only become more binding over the next decade, many fleets recognize that a staged procurement strategy will enable them to support efficient operations and business continuity. The year 2020 was a year that taught us the importance of sustainability even more as the world battled the pandemic. As far as India is concerned, what factors led to the acceleration of EV adoption by the fleet operators? To find out, read on as our experts reveal the maj or trends that impacted electrification in the country and the benefits of going green. . .

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SUNIL GUPTA MD & CEO, AVIS INDIA

Th e y e a r 2 0 2 0 wi t n e s s e d a s e a o f c h a n g e . Na t i o n wi d e l o c k d o wn s i mp o s e d f r o m l a t e Ma r c h u n t i l l a t e Ma y 2 0 2 0 d u e t o t h e o u t b r e a k o f COVI D- 1 9 p a n d e mi c h i t i n d u s t r i e s wo r l d wi d e . I n d i a ’ s b u r g e o n i n g E V ( e l e c t r i c v e h i c l e ) i n d u s t r y wa s n o e x c e p t i o n a s i t t o o wa s h i t h a r d b y e c o n o mi c u n c e r t a i n t y .

Th e o v e r a l l E V p r o d u c t i o n wa s a f f e c t e d d u e t o l o we r d e ma n d , a s we l l a s s u p p l y - c h a i n d i s r u p t i o n s . Ul t i ma t e l y , r e s u mi n g p r o d u c t i o n l e v e l s f o r t h e E V s e g me n t i s h e a v i l y d e p e n d e n t o n d e ma n d r e v i v a l , s u p p l y - c h a i n r e a c t i v a t i o n , a n d a c c e s s t o t h e l a b o r f o r c e . De s p i t e t h e COVI D- 1 9 d i s r u p t i o n s , t h e l o n g - t e r m p r o s p e c t s f o r t h e E V i n d u s t r y s t i l l l o o k p r o mi s i n g .

I S FLEET ELECTRI F I CATI ON THE FUTURE?

I f we l o o k a t t h e s e r v i c e s e c o n o my , c o mme r c i a l f l e e t o p e r a t o r s a r e i mp o r t a n t e a r l y a d o p t e r s o f E V s . T h e y a r e rapidly focusing on transitioning to a clean future t h r o u g h e l e c t r i c v e h i c l e s . Mo r e o v e r , t h e e l e c t r i c v e h i c l e ma r k e t v a l u e d a t $ 1 6 2 . 3 4 b i l l i o n i n 2 0 1 9 , i s p r o j e c t e d t o g r o w t o $ 8 0 2 . 8 1 b i l l i o n b y 2 0 2 7 , r e g i s t e r i n g a CAGR o f 2 2 . 6 %. Th u s , t h e f u t u r e o u t l o o k f o r f l e e t e l e c t r i f i c a t i o n r e ma i n s p o s i t i v e .

I NCREASI NG ADOPTI ON OF ELECTRI F I CATI ON I N VEHI CLES

Th i s i s i n f a c t b e i n g l a r g e l y s h a p e d b y a l l c o n s u me r s wh o a r e e a g e r t o b u i l d a mo r e s u s t a i n a b l e wo r l d f o r t h e next generation. In addition, factors such as favorable g o v e r n me n t p o l i c i e s , g r a n t s a n d t a x r e b a t e s , t h e increasing range of vehicles, better availability of c h a r g i n g i n f r a s t r u c t u r e , a n d s o f o r t h wi l l a l s o b e p l a y i n g a n i n t e g r a l p a r t i n t h e g l o b a l E V d e ma n d .

I n I n d i a , t h e g o v e r n me n t i s l e a v i n g n o s t o n e u n t u r n e d a n d i s wo r k i n g t o wa r d s ma k i n g 3 0 % o f t h e c o u n t r y ’ s v e h i c l e s e l e c t r i c b y 2 0 3 0 . He r e , t h e c o mme r c i a l v e h i c l e s e g me n t i s s e t t o b e t h e f a s t e s t - g r o wi n g ma r k e t . Wi t h t h e r i s i n g a d o p t i o n o f E Vs a n d e l e c t r i f i c a t i o n o f b u s e s , I n d i a h a s c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h e g r o wt h o f t h e e l e c t r i c c o mme r c i a l s e g me n t i n a b i g wa y .

In India, the government is leaving no stone unturned and is working towards making 30% of the country’s vehicles electric by 2030.

Th i s t r a n s i t i o n i n g o f f l e e t s f r o m t r a d i t i o n a l I CE v e h i c l e s t o E Vs i s l i k e l y t o b e g i n i n u r b a n a r e a s f i r s t f o l l o we d b y rural areas. It is due to the shorter average trip length, b e t t e r a c c e s s t o p u b l i c E V c h a r g i n g n e t wo r k s , a n d t h e additional benefit of reduced noise in residential areas.

I n t h e y e a r s t o c o me , o r g a n i z a t i o n s l o o k i n g t o g r o w t h e i r f l e e t s f o r c a p t i v e r e q u i r e me n t s a r e a l s o p l a n n i n g t o i n v e s t i n E Vs . Ca r r e n t a l c o mp a n i e s f o c u s e d o n e mp l o y e e t r a n s f e r s e r v i c e s a r e l i k e l y t o mo v e t o e l e c t r i c v e h i c l e s i n a b i g wa y .

Gr a d u a l l y , we a r e wi t n e s s i n g a n i n c r e a s i n g mo v e me n t t o wa r d s s u s t a i n a b l e a n d e n e r g y - e f f i c i e n t f l e e t ma n a g e me n t . S o , wi t h o u t a d o u b t , E Vs wi l l s o o n b e c o me a n i n c r e a s i n g l y c o mmo n s i g h t i n t h e y e a r s a h e a d . I n a d d i t i o n t o i mp r o v i n g E V c h a r g i n g infrastructure, various other steps are to be taken to r e a c h t h e g o v e r n me n t ’ s v i s i o n o f p u t t i n g mo r e E V s o n the road by 2030.

Th e i r g r i p o n t h e a u t o mo b i l e i n d u s t r y i s s l o wl y b u t s u r e l y t i g h t e n i n g a n d i n c u mb e n t s wi l l n e e d t o a d a p t t o ensure that they are not left behind.

Their grip on the automobile industry is slowly but surely tightening and incumbents will need to adapt to ensure that they are not left behind.

Several countries are also planning on replacing their e x i s t i n g I CE b u s f l e e t wi t h e l e c t r i c b u s e s . E l e c t r i c t wo wh e e l e r s a r e a l s o l i k e l y t o s e e f a s t a d o p t i o n .

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RAHUL SHONAK COO, NEXZU MOBILITY

F i r s t , I wo u l d l i k e t o s t a t e t h a t t h e s t a r t o f t h e y e a r 2 0 2 1 l o o k s p r o mi s i n g . I n d i a ’ s f i g h t o n t h e b a t t l e f i e l d o f Co v i d - 1 9 i s i n t h e f i n a l p h a s e a f t e r t h e r o l l o u t o f a h o me g r o wn v a c c i n e . Th i s l e a v e s a t o n o f t h a n k s t o t h e me d i c a l f r a t e r n i t y wh o we r e wa r r i o r s a n d t o o k e v e r y c h a l l e n g e i n t h i s p a n d e mi c h e a d - o n . I n d i a i s a l s o battling another fight on a different front in the pre and p o s t - Co v i d e r a . Th e f i g h t f o r c l e a n e r a i r t o b r e a t h e f o r her citizens.

Al l o f t h e s e t r e n d s a r e p u s h i n g l a r g e a n d s ma l l f l e e t o p e r a t o r s t o wa r d s a d d i n g E Vs t o t h e i r p o r t f o l i o s .

Be s i d e s , a s t h e b a t t e r y c o s t s d r o p s t e e p l y a s production and adoptions scale, electric vehicles are e x p e c t e d t o g a i n p o p u l a r i t y a mo n g f l e e t o p e r a t o r s . I n t h e e n d , we wi l l n o t f o r g e t t h e mo me n t o f s e e i n g t h e Hi ma l a y a s r a n g e f r o m a s f a r a s 2 5 0 k m a wa y , wh i c h wa s v i s i b l e d u r i n g t h e l o c k d o wn wh e n v e h i c l e s we r e o f f t h e r o a d a n d p o l l u t i o n l e v e l s we r e mi n i ma l .

E n v i r o n me n t a l i s t s h a v e b e e n v o c a l a b o u t c l i ma t e c h a n g e a n d a l a r g e a d d r e s s a b l e p a r t o f c l i ma t e c h a n g e is curbing air pollution further large part of it, can be a d d r e s s e d b y r e d u c i n g v e h i c l e p o l l u t a n t s . P o l i c y ma k e r s h a v e d o n e a p h e n o me n a l j o b b y c h a l k i n g o u t t h e p l a n for the reduction of air pollution in the past 2 decades.

As o f d a t e , I C e n g i n e p o we r e d v e h i c l e s a r e e mi t t i n g f e we r h a r mf u l g a s e s wi t h s c h e d u l e d u p g r a d e j o u r n e y s f r o m BS 1 t o BS 6 e mi s s i o n c o mp l i a n t v e h i c l e s . Wh i l e c u r b i n g a i r p o l l u t i o n wi t h a p r a g ma t i c a p p r o a c h wi l l wo r k i n t h e l o n g e r r u n , I n d i a ' s c o mmi t me n t t o t a c k l e c l i ma t e c h a n g e r e q u i r e d a ma j o r s h i f t i n i t s s t r a t e g y .

Th i s i s wh y t h e p r i o r i t y o f c l e a n mo b i l i t y , p o we r e d b y e l e c t r i c v e h i c l e s , ma k e s t h e mo s t s e n s e . I n t h e P r e Co v i d e r a , s h a r e d mo b i l i t y wa s a c h o i c e o f p e o p l e .

Fleet operators had begun their offerings in 2/3/4 wh e e l e r s e g me n t s a n d I C e n g i n e v e h i c l e s we r e t h e o b v i o u s c h o i c e t o t h e f l e e t o p e r a t o r s a s we l l a s c o n s u me r s . E l e c t r i c v e h i c l e a d o p t i o n i n t h e f l e e t h a d l i mi t a t i o n s b e c a u s e o f v a r i o u s r e a s o n s s u c h a s t h e Co s t of electric vehicles, inadequate charging infrastructure.

Th e Y e a r 2 0 2 0 h a s b r o u g h t a c h a n g e i n t h a t s i t u a t i o n .

On t h e s u p p l y s i d e , t h e e l e c t r i f i c a t i o n o f v e h i c l e s h a s r e a c h e d a n e we r h e i g h t . Th a n k s t o t h e i n i t i a t i v e s t a k e n b y p o l i c y ma k e r s o n p u s h i n g At ma n i r b h a r a n d v o c a l f o r l o c a l E V e c o - s y s t e m, wh i c h s p a r k e d t r a c t i o n i n developing the eco-system for electric vehicles in India i n 2 0 2 0 . On t h e d e ma n d s i d e , r i s i n g f u e l p r i c e s , t h e r e a l i z a t i o n o f l o w r u n n i n g c o s t o f a n E V b y c o n s u me r s , a n d o v e r a l l a wa r e n e s s o f I C e n g i n e e mi s s i o n e f f e c t s a r e t h e k e y d r i v e r s o f c o n s u me r ’ s i n c l i n a t i o n t o wa r d s electric vehicles.

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The Year 2020 has brought a change in that situation. On the supply side, the electrification of vehicles has reached a newer height.

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PERSPECTIVE

HOW ARE FLEET OPERATORS LIKELY TO GAIN AS DELHI'S EV POLICY AIMS TO ELECTRIFY 50% 2W FLEET OF DELIVERY COMPANIES BY MARCH 2023?

During the nationwide lockdown, the air pollution in New Delhi and northern India dropped to a 20-year low. But, we know that lockdown is not a sustainable solution to fighting air pollution, but a transition to cleaner electric mobility definitely is. With a view to enhance clean mobility, the Delhi government' s new electric vehicle policy envisages incentives to cut to 50 per cent by March 2023 fleet of petrol-powered two-wheelers used by delivery service providers in the city. It is expected that the incentives will encourage delivery service providers like those engaged in food delivery, e-commerce logistics and courier services to switch to using electric twowheelers. These fleet operators who achieve the set targets will be eligible for financial support as well from the Delhi Finance Corporation (DFC). So, what other benefits with the fleet operators get with the help of this policy. Read on to find out from our experts.

JEETENDER SHARMA FOUNDER & MD, OKINAWA AUTOTECH

Th e n a t i o n a l c a p i t a l h a s a l wa y s b e e n i n f a mo u s f o r i t s a i r q u a l i t y , t h a n k s t o t h e h u g e n u mb e r o f v e h i c l e s t h a t t h r o n g i t s r o a d s e v e r y d a y , a d d i n g i mme n s e l y t o t h e e v e r - mo u n t i n g a i r p o l l u t i o n i n t h e c i t y . L o o k i n g a t t h e current situation of re-rising air pollution levels and d e t e r i o r a t i n g AQI i n De l h i , Ch i e f Mi n i s t e r Ar v i n d K e j r i wa l r e c e n t l y n o t i f i e d i t s E l e c t r i c Ve h i c l e s ( E V) p o l i c y .

K e j r i wa l , wh i l e a n n o u n c i n g t h e s a me , s a i d t h a t t h e n e w p o l i c y i s a i me d a t e l e c t r i f y i n g 5 0 p e r c e n t o f t h e t wo wh e e l e r s f l e e t o f d e l i v e r y c o mp a n i e s b y Ma r c h 2 0 2 3 a n d i s a i me d t o d o u b l e i t u p t o 1 0 0 p e r c e n t b y 2 0 2 5 .

Th e q u e s t i o n , t h e r e f o r e , i s h o w wi l l t h e f l e e t o p e r a t o r s gain from this new policy?

know what fleet operators are. Fleet operators are individuals or companies that own more than 50 lightduty motor vehicles for usage in a business enterprise including the renting of vehicles. However, fleet operators do not hold vehicles for retail sales.

How will fleet operators gain from Delhi government’s new EV policy?

There are a couple of things that could turn beneficial for the fleet operators in accordance with the Delhi government’s new EV policy.

Wh a t a r e f l e e t o pe r a t o r s ?

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1. Bu l k pr o f i t : F l e e t o p e r a t o r s s u p p l y mo t o r v e h i c l e s , e s p e c i a l l y t wo - wh e e l e r s t o t h e b u s i n e s s c h a i n i n b u l k . Wh i c h me a n s t h a t i f t h e y s t a r t b u y i n g t wo - wh e e l e r s t o me e t t h e De l h i g o v e r n me n t ’ s n e w E V p o l i c y , t h e y wi l l b e e n t i t l e d t o t h e i n c e n t i v e s t h a t t h e De l h i g o v e r n me n t i s o f f e r i n g i n b u l k - wh i c h c o u l d , i n t u r n , p r o v e t o b e a b u l k p r o f i t f o r t h e s e c o mp a n i e s .

2. L o w- i n t e r e s t l o a n s : Th e De l h i g o v e r n me n t ’ s n e w E V p o l i c y s a y s t h a t t h o s e wh o p l a n t o b u y E Vs f o r c o mme r c i a l u s a g e s , l o a n s wo u l d b e ma d e a v a i l a b l e t o t h e m a t v e r y l o w- i n t e r e s t r a t e s wh i c h c o u l d b e v e r y b e n e f i c i a l t o t h e f l e e t o p e r a t o r s wh o d e a l wi t h a l a r g e n u mb e r o f mo t o r v e h i c l e s f o r c o mme r c i a l u s e only.

3. No r e gi s t r a t i o n a n d r o a d t a x f e e : Th e n e w E V p o l i c y a l s o s t a t e s t h a t t h o s e wh o b u y t h e E V v e h i c l e s f o r c o mme r c i a l u s e wi l l b e e n t i t l e d t o wa i v e r o n r e g i s t r a t i o n a n d r o a d t a x f e e . Th i s wo u l d b e a ma j o r g a i n f o r t h e f l e e t o p e r a t o r s a s t h e y wo u l d b e a b l e t o s a v e a l o t o n t h e s e t a x e s .

4. Bo o s t a s e c o - f r i e n dl y o pe r a t o r s : I n t o d a y ’ s wo r l d , b e i n g e n v i r o n me n t a l l y f r i e n d l y h a s b e c o me v i t a l f o r b u s i n e s s e s . T h e r e f o r e , t h e s wi t c h t o e l e c t r i c v e h i c l e s u n d e r t h e n e w E V p o l i c y wo u l d o n l y me a n t h a t t h e f l e e t o p e r a t o r s c a n p r o u d l y b o a s t o f b e i n g a s u s t a i n a b l e b r a n d t h a t i s a l s o mi n d f u l o f t h e i r surroundings.

5. I n v e s t me n t h u b: I n c e n t i v e s l u r e e v e r y b o d y a n d wi t h t h e n e w E V p o l i c y o f f e r i n g s o ma n y o f t h e m, a n i n c r e a s i n g n u mb e r o f p e o p l e wo u l d l i k e t o i n v e s t a n d b e c o n n e c t e d t o f l e e t o p e r a t o r s , c o n s i d e r i n g t h a t t h e y wo u l d b e s wi t c h i n g t o e l e c t r i c v e h i c l e s s o o n - wh i c h wo u l d me a n mo r e d e ma n d f o r t h e f l e e t operators.

Th e n e w E V p o l i c y i s a wi n - wi n s i t u a t i o n f o r t h e e n v i r o n me n t a n d t h e f l e e t o p e r a t o r s . Th e y wi l l n o t o n l y b e n e f i t f r o m t h e i n c e n t i v e s t h e De l h i g o v e r n me n t i s o f f e r i n g b u t c a n a l s o p r o u d l y p r e s e n t t h e ms e l v e s a s b r a n d s t h a t a r e t h o u g h t f u l o f t h e e n v i r o n me n t .

THE NEW EV POLICY IS A WIN-WIN SITUATION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE FLEET OPERATORS. THEY WILL NOT ONLY BENEFIT FROM THE INCENTIVES THE DELHI GOVERNMENT IS OFFERING BUT CAN ALSO PROUDLY PRESENT THEMSELVES AS BRANDS THAT ARE THOUGHTFUL OF THE ENVIRONMENT.

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NEERAJ KUMAR SINGAL DIRECTOR, SEMCO GROUP

As per Delhi Economic Survey 2018, Delhi had over 75 lakh registered powered vehicles with 72 lakh twowheelers. Though the average annual growth rate of registered vehicles is around 5.8%, even if this figure is considered constant for the last 2 years, in compliance to policy, total two-wheelers to be replaced by 2030 @ 30% of total 2 wheelers by EVs would be minimum 22 lakhs.

Delhi is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.

As per Rocky Mountain Institute assessment, the city’s demand for goods consumption is expected to increase from 68,000 tons/day in 2015 to 100,000 tons/day in 2025 and to 130,000 tons/day in 2035 which continuously will need augmenting the two-wheeler fleets extensively for the last mile delivery to customers.

Apart from incentives for commercial & personal vehicles, incentives for two-wheelers along with the scrappage benefits have been included in Delhi’s EV policy 2020- which are expected to promote the use of EVs and has rendered Delhi the cheapest place in India to buy EVs. Over 3000 EVs are already registered in Delhi as of 29 October 2020. Delhi government's new EV provisions incentivises a fleet of petrol-powered two-wheelers used by delivery service providers to convert their 50 percent of vehicles to e-vehicles by March 2023. As a pilot project, in sub-cities like Dwarka, dedicated cycling tracks for cycles/ e-cycles are being planned for ease of movement of slow-moving environment-friendly vehicles.

“Deliver Electric Delhi” initiated by Delhi Government & RMI, in collaboration with 36 private sector organizations, envisages deployment of 1,000 electric delivery vehicles with associated charging infrastructure in Delhi. Prakriti Mobility Pvt Ltd plans to augment its targeted fleet of 500 e-taxis (EVERA Cabs) in 2021 to 5000 and the charging stations to 55 within next two years.

O u t o f t h e c u r r e n t 9 2 m e m b e r s o f “ E V 1 0 0 c l u b ”, D e l h i based Indian entities like BSES Rajdhani & BSES Yamuna, have committed e-vehicle fleet/ charging station expansion; Flipkart plans to replace its entire fleet to EV by 2030 & install 1450 charging hubs for charging of EVs by its staff; SBI & WIPRO have committed 2000 EVs each & installation of charging facilities for staff at major locations by 2030 and committed to electrify its fleet in a phased manner.

As Delhi plans to ensure 25% (of vehicles already registered in base year 2020) of EVs registered within next 5 years – totalling to about 5 lakh EV registration, 200 charging stations in the year to ensure public charging facilities within every 3 km, reimbursement of 25% of purchase cost planned to be reimbursed for ecycles (electric cycles) and EV taxi hailing services like Blusmart have already started operating in Delhi- NCR, Delhi is poised to become the role model of e-mobility for the other states. Two-thirds of new vehicle registrations in Delhi comprise two-wheelers, with the most popular segments being motorcycles between 110-125 cc and scooters between 90-125 cc. The policy extends the subsidy of upto Rs 30000 on e- two wheelers, Rs 5500 plus Rs 2000 on electric bicycles.

Heavy duty “CARGO BICYCLES” will be given a higher incentive of 33% of cost or Rs 15000- whichever is lower. Government expects extensive use of these electric bicycles in home delivery services. Additionally, ride-hailing service providers will be allowed to operate electric two-wheeler taxis.

It is expected that the incentives will encourage delivery service providers like those engaged in food delivery, ecommerce logistics and courier services to switch to using electric two-wheelers which are more reliable in performance, are almost maintenance free, comfortable to ride & have low running cost. Apart from being environment friendly, these features & attributes of two wheeler EVs will ensure that the timely deliveries are made at low operational costs and the extent of savings are used in innovatively improved & reliable service delivery as well as better employee remuneration with higher degree of customer satisfaction.

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INSIGHTS

TOP Emerging Trends In EVs

It’s a well-accepted fact that EVs are going to be the future of mobility and the race toward electrification has already started. Awareness among people is increasing by the day and urban areas are the early adopters.

Electric vehicles are bringing a lot of pleasant, yet challenging changes for consumers as they get the needed reduction in the maintenance and fuel costs while they remain anxious about initial investment and lacking infrastructure. OEMs have to re-think everything from the way vehicles are engineered, manufactured and tested. While the change is for the good, for many manufacturers, such change is a long and expensive process.

Let’s begin at what is at the heart of an Electric Vehicle.

EV battery has a high price tag and incidentally happens to be one of the heaviest components in the vehicle. As weight is detrimental to the range of an electric vehicle, battery design is an interesting irony that the industry is trying to overcome. Technological advances in battery development are the only viable solution to this. Lithium-ion batteries seem to be the default option for EVs currently, but OEMs are investing in new technologies such as solid-state batteries, hydrogen-powered vehicles etc. OEMs are working on both improving the existing technologies that tend to mature with time and at the same time investing in new technologies for the future. Demonstration of such technologies virtually through simulations can accelerate the research on feasibility, adoption and optimization.

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As the engine is the core of the whole design process of any fossil fuel vehicle, for EVs, it is an electric motor. How these motors influence and interact with other systems like chassis, suspension, transmission, body and cabin interior etc., throws a lot of challenges. For example, when a diesel engine is present, other noises get camouflaged under loud engine noise, but as electric motors don’t make such loud noise, EVs are much quieter. And thus, one can hear motor, tire, wind noise which are on the high frequency side.

Since the engine vanishes from the front, EVs become vulnerable for frontal crash and calls for strengthening of front structures so that they can absorb the impact better. Simply adding more mass on frontal parts to enhance crash worthiness may not solve the problem as batteries are already overloading the EVs. This means how the body is constructed, what material is the best for chassis members and how those need to be joined, become some of the key design aspects that need a complete revamp.

To balance weight and strength, new materials are being tried and tested which calls for some major changes in manufacturing processes as well. These processes need to be validated before they can be deployed in plant production. Such changes call for huge investments and are also very time consuming.

Validating the manufacturing processes virtually with the help of technological advances seems to be the way all the OEMs are investing into.

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INSIGHTS

Coming to the other aspects in EVs, the technology companies are ensuring that the EVs are far more intelligent and independent than their predecessors.

Autonomous driving is one such technology that is becoming popular and almost all vehicles may use it, or it will be available as a standby technology in coming years. Airports could be the early adopters of fully autonomous vehicles as the lanes are dedicated and the paths are predefined. Sensors are the heart of such autonomous vehicles which make the vehicles intelligent. Sensor technology requires a lot of innovation as the vehicle undergoes various rough environmental conditions like water, dust, heat, etc. Sensors face challenges as they need to work all the time to enable the vehicle to make intelligent decisions all the time. For EVs, supporting such technology like LiDAR, comes as an additional burden on the battery.

The main drawback of having to rely on a battery as an energy source, is the time it takes to charge. This predicament is being addressed by advanced technology like fast charging or battery swapping etc. There are already technologies on trial in Northern Europe where vehicles could be charged on the go through an embedded rail along the road, which could also become wireless someday.

Researchers are working on how to leverage solar energy by improving the power density of solar panels. Such high-power density panels could utilize the limited area available on the car, to generate enough power to charge the batteries. This also

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opens several other interesting possibilities like charging while parking in addition to charging on the go. Such technologies will enable batteries to be smaller, thus reducing the carbon footprint of manufacturing EVs. As every aspect of automotive design is going through radical changes, OEMs need to have agile development strategies to adapt to these changes quickly. It’s believed that such transformation within the required timeframe, can only be made possible by leveraging virtual technologies. Virtual Prototyping allows OEMs to validate the manufacturing, assembling, and behavior of their product in different environments minimizing their costs and time to market, without sacrificing safety and quality.

At the end of the day, all new connected, autonomous, shared, electrified (CASE) business models stand and fall with the trust in those next-generation technologies prior to market launch and throughout the lifecycle.

Looking at the tremendous speed of developments and the rise of start-ups, manufacturers have no choice but to get it right, the first time.

RAVI K AJJAMPUDI Technical Director – Engineering, ESI India

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INSIGHTS

EV ADOPTION STRATEGY FOR FLEET: WHAT ARE THE WAYS AND STRATEGIES TO TACKLE COMPLEX FLEET ELECTRIFICATION CHALLENGES? LOCATING CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE Optimal siting of charging infrastructure is essential for the smooth adoption of EVs by fleet operators.

Identifying suitable locations to fulfil the charging requirements of a fleet depends on the nature of its operations. For last-mile delivery operations with smaller route lengths (up to 30 kilometres) that follow a hub and spoke model, the charging infrastructure should ideally be installed at the hubs. For fleets with longer routes (100 kilometres and above), the charging infrastructure can be installed at major origins and destinations.

Electrification of vehicle fleets has gained considerable momentum as many companies involving urban mobility in their operations are committed to reducing their carbon footprint. On the one hand, reduced battery costs, innovative business models, and policy incentives are driving the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) from fuel-powered ones. On the other hand, high purchase costs, limited range, and lack of a wellestablished charging network continue to be major roadblocks. To overcome these challenges, efficient fleet operation and planning strategies need to be adopted.

Further, for passenger fleets that do not operate on fixed routes, the infrastructure should be installed in major activity areas such as commercial hubs and public spaces. Finally, fleet operators should explore various charging technologies (such as plug-in charging, battery swapping, and inductive charging) that best suit their operations.

FLEET PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT The operation of EVs significantly differs from that of traditional fuel-powered vehicles. While traditional vehicles have to be refueled (a few minutes), EVs need to be recharged, which translates into a longer downtime (a few hours). This, accompanied by poor charging infrastructure, necessitates efficient operational planning for EVs so that uninterrupted and reliable services are realized. The fleet should be deployed on predictable routes such that the battery range can be maximized and vehicles can return to the charging station before their batteries discharge.

Further, the schedules should be planned to accommodate sufficient charging times.

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INSIGHTS SMART CHARGING SYSTEMS

Collaborating with DISCOMs

Often, actual battery performance is significantly different from the stated performance. The actual performance is usually dependent on traffic and battery conditions. Therefore, fleet operators should adopt smart charging systems that use real-time data to monitor the operations of EVs and the batteries powering them.

A robust charging infrastructure requires an understanding of the on-site power capacity and projection of future requirements. In this regard, engagement with local power distribution companies (DISCOMs) becomes crucial.

These systems can control when and where an EV needs to be charged. Such an approach can address the concerns regarding battery discharge and range anxiety. In addition, these systems can be used to estimate the energy demand at a charging location and check whether the associated supply would be enough.

The charging systems should be interoperable with various charging technologies that exist currently or may evolve in the future.

Grid load management For EV fleets to operate smoothly, the demand should not exceed the grid load capacity. To ensure this, fleet operators could adopt stacked charging times while planning their operations. Alternative on-site power sources such as photovoltaic systems could also be considered to support the grid load, wherever necessary.

Their expertise can help fleet operators plan and evaluate efficient charging strategies. The EV ecosystem is complex with a wide range of stakeholders, including manufacturers, suppliers, operators, drivers, power distributors, and the government.

Collaborating and engaging with these players during the early deployment stages of a fleet, irrespective of its size, is essential for its successful operation. The implementation of the abovementioned strategies while deploying urban EV fleets can provide valuable lessons on vehicle deployment, charging management, and driver preparedness, which could be used for other larger vehicle segments as well.

SPURTHI RAVURI Research Analyst, CSTEP

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INSIGHTS

HOW TELEMATICS HELPS IN USING REAL-TIME INFORMATION TO MAKE EFFICIENT DECISIONS ABOUT YOUR FLEET?

Rajesh, Hub Manager of a leading fleet operator in New Delhi manages a fleet of over 100 vehicles. He maintains a roster register and meticulously maintains them. One day, his boss asked him the real-time location of his vehicles, the duty and trip roster of vehicles and drivers. Rajesh went into the record room and immersed himself into volumes of papers.

The story of Rajesh is not new and almost all dispatchers and hub managers could be facing it.

However, fleet telematics could have made his life simple.

For the benefit of readers, if I had to convey in simple terms, Fleet Telematics is a kind of Information System bringing vehicle-related information and multiple parameters of vehicle diagnostics at a unified platform, helping driver-partners and fleet operators.

Typically, fleet telematics comprises critical elements like vehicle location tracking, driver behaviour monitoring, route planning, Real Time SOC level, Real Time Odometer readings, Geo – fence based alerts, vehicle speed, Trip history etc.

Technology intervention is necessary for business augmentation and operations efficiency. It would not be wrong to say that all fleet operators should be on boards pioneering technology and EVs to provide cutting edge sustainable mobility solutions.

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Let me help you understand how to do it. Typically at EV Charging hubs, one should have a paperless mechanism in the inspection and dispatch of vehicles.

Each driver-partner should be provided with a cell phone through which he gets trip-related alerts from command centres. At command centres which are located at hubs, dashboard access should be provided to hub managers. It is where all the action happens.

Through remote access, he can find out on real-time access the location of the vehicle, its SOC level, nearest location of EV charging station etc. The Hub managers can also see if the driver has engaged in rash driving, the AC temperatures etc.

In a nutshell, all of the data regarding vehicle health, location, maintenance, acceleration, seatbelt usage, speed, braking, air pressure, and a range of other variables are now readily available from specially procured OBD/ CANBUS devices from various countries.

The adoption of telematics can bring tremendous benefits to fleet operators like it can help them to optimise routes and increase productivity. One can control and reduce operational expenses as vehicle specifications, service scheduling etc enables operators to prepare pre-maintenance schedules and keep vehicles in a fit state.

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We have been able to get insights into our driver’s behavior. We have been successfully able to identify those drivers who would benefit from further training or guidance on correcting dangerous or inefficient driving habits.

Another benefit of telematics is one can assign a trip according to the real-time SOC level of the vehicle. This integration allows dispatchers to assign a trip to a particular vehicle on the basis of its SOC level, the distance of the trip and guides it to the nearest EV Charging Station to avail opportunity charging. This feature allows us to reduce dry runs and optimize revenue kilometres.

It is evident that telematics-based operations have benefits for a fleet operator. Creating matrices and KPIs for fleet driver performances can promote safety and position personal objectives with company productivity and safety levels on the same level.

The whole idea behind having telematics-based data for journey & trip management is to make your daily commute a pleasant experience.

EEE-Taxi is an end to end E-Mobility solution provider, which brings in 100% EV’s, Charging Infra and State of art technology together, to save Companies Time, money and Carbon emissions. Additionally, we create a charging marketplace for other EV users to Plug in their EV’s. It uses telematics comprehensively to make your journey a pleasurable experience.

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In a nutshell, all of the data regarding vehicle health, location, maintenance, acceleration, seatbelt usage, speed, braking, air pressure, and a range of other variables are now readily available from specially procured OBD/ CANBUS devices from various countries.

NISHANT SAINI, FOUNDER & MD, EEE TAXI The views expressed by the author are personal

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INSIGHTS

POWERING AHEAD: UTILITIES EVOLVING ROLE IN EV CHARGING LANDSCAPE The increasing energy demand across the globe, in addition to the many concerns —environmental, societal, economic, from the transportation sector, has paved ways for developing alternative energy options for powering mobility; and economical innovative solutions for improving power efficiency and reducing operational costs.

For a long time, the opportunity of EVs has been regarded as a game-changer for the Indian automotive sector. In recent years, a combination of Central and State Government led initiatives [such as the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME-II) scheme and EV-specific State policies, etc.] have promoted the adoption of EVs in the emerging EV field in India.

At present, the penetration rate of the electric vehicle market only accounts for 1% of India's total car sales, of which electric twowheelers account for 95%. However, as India gears up to attain 30% market penetration of EVs by 2030, EVs are poised to introduce significant new load capacity, higher compared to industries such as steel. In a report from Brookings Institution India, by 2030, the total electricity demand of EVs may vary between 37 and 97 TWh, under 33% and 100% EV penetration sales by 2030, considering only intra-city (urban) passenger travel. This gradual shift to emobility will not dramatically overburden our existing power systems, however, the grid can face many challenges when multiple EVs are plugged together at the same time—such as congestion problems in already heavily loaded grids, overloading of distribution transformers, low voltage problems in largely radial networks, peak load, and energy losses increase and probably, large voltage drops and load imbalances between phases in distribution grids.

Hence, to meet this large increase in peak load, utilities will need to —either add generation resources required to increase or shift generation load timing, prepare additional energy storage to discharge at peak times, or smartly manage EV charging to shift or delay the load—or deploy some mix of these three approaches. The grid of the future will be structured to meet the financing goals of debt-ridden distribution utilities, as well as the end-users; and instead of involving expensive power generation and T&D network upgrades to meet the highest possible load, the focus will shift to using smart solutions to enhance flexibility and efficiency to better manage the load—to eliminate, or at the very least, dramatically reduce peak requirements and shape load to match available cleaner generation.

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INSIGHTS

It is worth mentioning that, in addition to facing a variety of challenges, utilities are at a crossroads that benefit from the huge opportunities to transition to electric transportation.

These include an improvement in the revenues through an increase in energy distributed; EV charging can compensate for high RE production during valley hours, further allowing them to alleviate congestion and defer or reduce grid reinforcement; flexibility in short-term power system operations, etc. which will eventually impact the utility business model.

Elocity works together with utilities using its smart EV charging management solutions —to aggregate and manage EV load to maintain grid reliability while understanding EV charging behavior and implementing grid friendly strategies to reduce CAPEX and OPEX need. It allows EVs to be used more as a flexible grid resource, which not only proves a greater degree of decarbonization in the power industry but also improves the financial viability of utility companies. This solution can be quickly and easily integrated with the utilities’ existing technologies and operate within existing industry standards.

Noteworthily, at this stage of early EV adoption, Indian utilities must take a driver’s seat and work together with the Government, decision-makers, automakers, Charge point operators (CPOs), and customers as early as possible; and take a proactive role in planning and deploying EV charging infrastructure across the country and promote the widespread adoption of EVs. The way forward India’s path towards carbon neutrality will rely on a greater degree of modern digital power grids to achieve transportation electrification. Therefore, electric utilities must continue sectoral collaboration to create an enabling EV ecosystem in which the power grid will form the backbone of the entire power system. On the horizon — with the right smart energy management, investments, regulatory approach, a right captive market, and technologies — utilities have a competitive advantage on becoming e-mobility powerhouses.

SANJEEV SINGH, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO AT ELOCITY The views expressed by the author are personal

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PRODUCT FEATURE

CHARGING MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE VerdeMobility' s CMS is an end-to-end EV charging and energy management solution. It connects OCPP-enabled infrastructure with the operation center and allows real-time monitoring of charging data. Users can check the charge status, make payments, and sync the app data to the dashboard to monitor charging stations in real-time.

VerdeMobility also offers a custom branding EV charging mobile app for your end-users to utilize your chargers worldwide. The Mobile application supports a list of features, including reservations, online payments, an offline wallet system, filters, real-time charging status, and a lot more.

MONITORING & CONTROL COMPANY DASHBOARD Dynamic load management capabilities.

Revenue generation and Energy Reports.

ROI Analytics.

OCPP compliant.

Partner/Fleet management.

END-USER MOBILE APP Android and iOS support Custom centric UI. Branding options available.

OCPP SERVER VerdeMobility provides cost-effective and comprehensive OCPP server management services to manage your entire EV system and ensure reliable smart charging. As a backend to the EV system, OCPP server management service manages your entire Charging management Software. It enables you to build your front-end systems and help you maintain, host, and manage various applications and services such as online payment applications, reservation of charging time slots for EV user, and asset and fault management applications.

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It empowers you to control the entire EV charging process, such as the authorization of EV users for charging (including a local list of authorization), remote firmware update of chargers, real-time status of charging station, and fault diagnosis and remote charging. It provides support for firmware management, and remote triggering of Charge Point initiated messages

COMPANY FEATURE

VISION STATEMENT: VerdeMobility aims to become a premium manufacturing hub for EV charging stations in India.

MISSION STATEMENT: To provide high-quality EV charging related Hardware and software services.

BUSINESS GOALS & OBJECTIVES: Company wants to expand into High power rating chargers for the DC Fast charging ecosystem.

BUSINESS STRATEGY: General strategy of the company is to focus on diversification, vertical integration, horizontal integration, organic growth, mergers & acquisitions, etc.

BUSINESS COMPETITIVENESS: In-house design and manufacturing capabilities.

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We are a product and services company into hardware and software established as Turnkey Solution Provider. VerdeMobility is a division of “System Level Solutions” that focuses on smart solutions in the emerging market of Electric Vehicles. Our EV solutions help to create the most innovative and affordable range of products maximizing ROI and efficiency. We design and manufacture our products in-house and Part of the Make-In-India initiative. With around 20 years in the industry we have established 6+ business verticals across sectors that include Hardware Development, Software Development, E-mobility Solutions, Solar Power Systems, Real-time Messaging Solutions, IoT Solutions, and more.

Conforming to our DNA to innovate and do better value creation and also to significantly leverage what we have been doing all the while in the technology space, we developed the EV Charging Solutions - both the hardware and software elements, which are going to catalyze the transition we are supposed to undergo by placing more and more Electric Vehicles on road.

Our recent achievements include launching our latest and India's first hybrid charger for electric vehicles. It is OCPP-enabled with 3.3kW X 2 Bharat AC 001 and 7.4kW X 1 Type 2 AC Charger designed to serve as the perfect choice for customizable EV charging options. We are soon going to launch our Sigfox enabled EV Chargers in partnership with iWire Technologies and HT Micron Semicondutores S.A. It's the world's first Sigfox enabled EV charger equipped with the latest EV charging technology that will deliver fast, convenient, and intelligent charging.

Business Concept a. Company’s Products & Services AC Charge Controller Bharat AC 001 Charger Type 2 Charger (3.3kW – 22kW) Hybrid Charger (2 16 amps output and 1 Type 2 output) Charge Controllers and OCPP Controller Charging Management Software c. Quality Policy Of The Company: ISO ratings, standards & specifications etc.

We are committed to consistently meet our customers requirements as well as applicable statutory and regulatory requirements for the quality of products and services and performance at optimum cost through our competent human resources and continual improvement of quality management system.

SLS has been registered by Intertek as conforming to the requirement of: ISO 9001:2015 d. Service Pledge: How the company will deliver the highest quality of service Effectively manage projects and ensures they are done in timely manner Efficiently manage resources for efficient cost of products and services Ensure enhance customer satisfaction through our products and services Ensure to fulfilment of needs and expectation of relevant interested parties Customers & Projects Bharat AC 001 with 10kw output ( RFID and OCPP 1.6J Support) Complaint to ARAI Standards Type 2 devices, with a capacity range of 7.4 kW, 10 kW and 22 kW 7.5kW Dual Gun charger with OCPP 1.6J Type 2 AC 7.4kW Dual Socket Chargers Hybrid-Electric Vehicle Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Battery Electric Vehicle

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FEATURE CONVERSATION

PARESH PATEL CEO AND FOUNDER, SYSTEM LEVEL SOLUTIONS

E Mo b i l i t y + i n t e r v i e we d P a r e s h P a t e l , CE O a n d F o u n d e r , S y s t e m Level Solutions over a cup of coffee to find out how the how t h e c o mp a n y h a s b e e n successful in providing the best products and services to their c u s t o me r s .

Please tell us how the business has been in the past year 2020 for System Level Solutions?

I wo u l d s a y t h a t 2 0 2 0 h a s n o t b e e n a b a d y e a r f o r S L S . Th e b u s i n e s s wa s t h e s a me a s a n y o t h e r y e a r , I h a v e t o t e l l t h a t we had a fast recovery from Ma n u f a c t u r i n g i n I n d i a . Al l t h a n k s t o t h e Ma k e - I n - I n d i a i n i t i a t i v e b y t h e I n d i a n Go v e r n me n t . Th o u g h 2 0 2 0 wa s a d i f f i c u l t y e a r a c r o s s a l l t h e s e c t o r s i t wa s a l s o a y e a r o f o p p o r t u n i t i e s . We a t S L S h a v e l a u n c h e d ma n y Co v i d - 1 9 products.

Give us a brief snapshot of various products that you offer?

I wo u l d f i r s t t a l k a b o u t t h e s e c t o r s we a r e i n t o l i k e E V, I o T, S o l a r , S ma r t L i g h t i n g , Ho me Au t o ma t i o n , S ma r t Me t e r i n g , AI / ML , a n d ma n y mo r e . Bu t t h e p r o d u c t s t h a t we h a v e i n r e g a r d t o t h e E V s e c t o r a r e AC a n d DC c h a r g e r s l i k e Ty p e 2 AC Ch a r g e r s f o r Ho me a n d I n d u s t r y , Ty p e 2 S i n g l e Gu n , Bh a r a t AC 0 0 1 , Bh a r a t DC, e t c . We a l s o h a v e Ch a r g e r c o n t r o l l e r s wh e r e a n y o n e c a n b u i l d t h e i r o wn chargers using our charge c o n t r o l l e r s , we a l s o o f f e r a Ch a r g i n g Ma n a g e me n t S y s t e m ( CMS ) t o k e e p a t r a c k o f y o u r E V Ch a r g i n g S o l u t i o n s .

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"IT IS IMPORTANT TO BUILD AND DEVELOP VEHICLES THAT ARE DESIRABLE AND COME WITH A CERTAIN PRIDE OF OWNERSHIP." Tell us a bit about the recent technology advancements that you have made in the EV sector which will drive the industry forward?

What should your customer expect from your company and look forward to in the coming year?

Ou r c u t t i n g e d g e t e c h n o l o g y h a s ma d e t h e c h a r g i n g p o i n t s s ma r t e r wi t h t h e h e l p o f o u r V e r y c o n OCP P controller.

Ou r s t r a t e g y s o f a r i s t h a t we a r e going to have a good foundation i n t e r ms o f o u r i ma g e i n c o n s u me r s ’ mi n d s a n d i n t e r ms of giving them a good product e x p e r i e n c e . We a r e s o o n g o i n g t o c o me u p wi t h ma n y n e w p r o d u c t s i n t h e a r e a o f E V wi t h t h e t a g o f Ma k e - I n - I n d i a a n d Ma n u f a c t u r e d i n I n d i a . We b e l i e v e t h e f u t u r e o f mo b i l i t y i s i n your hands, and in order to adapt a n d e mb r a c e t h e e me r g e n c e o f a b e t t e r e c o s y s t e m, o n e n e e d s t o b e e q u i p p e d wi t h i n - d e p t h k n o wl e d g e o f t h e d i f f e r e n t t y p e s o f E V a n d E V c h a r g e r s . Th e t e a m a t S L S h a s b e e n wo r k i n g f o r y e a r s t o ma k e t h i s p o s s i b l e a n d t o g i v e t h e c o n s u me r s n o t h i n g but the finest products ever.

We h a v e AC- DC r e c t i f i e r s o f 2 0 k W De s i g n e d a n d Ma n u f a c t u r e d i n I n d i a f o r DC0 0 1 c h a r g e r s , we wi l l b e l a u n c h i n g c h a r g e c o n t r o l l e r s f o r DC 0 0 1 c h a r g e r s s o t h a t s ma l l c o mp a n i e s c a n a l s o s t a r t ma k i n g t h e i r o wn chargers in India.

Ne x t , we h a v e i n t h e p i p e l i n e i s , d e v e l o p me n t o f a Hy b r i d c h a r g e r wi t h both IEC 60309 and type 2 output so t h a t mu l t i p l e v a r i a n t s o f c h a r g e r s c a n b e c h a r g e d s i mu l t a n e o u s l y .

You are known for innovation and technology so what are the new products we can expect from your company this year?

Ne w p r o d u c t s we a r e i n t r o d u c i n g a r e : DC t wo - wh e e l e r f a s t - c h a r g i n g stations.

1 0 0 % I n d i a ma n u f a c t u r e DC charger controllers OCP P g a t e wa y s

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INSIGHTS

RISE OF AN EV WAVE:

EMERGENCE OF NEW VALUE POOLS AS COMMERCIAL FLEET OPERATORS PUT EV IN THE FAST LANE

In 2020, Flipkart pledged to have 100 percent electric vehicles (EVs) in its fleet by 2030. Uber plans to add 3000 EVs to its fleet by the end of 2021, while last-mile delivery fleets like Zomato, Swiggy, Grofers, and BigBasket are ahead of the game in adopting EVs, and plan to increase their EV fleet size further. Driving this transformation are a host of trends working in tandem: better technology, the lower total cost of ownership (TCO), and improved charging network density, prodded forward by government incentives. There are four kinds of commercial fleet operators adopting EVs in India – corporate taxis, bike-taxis, first-/last-mile connectivity, and urban freight. With the rapid pace at which commercial fleet operators are embracing electric vehicles, a range of new opportunities is emerging in the EV ecosystem.

Battery-as-a-service To make EVs more affordable, the government has allowed the sale of EVs without a pre-fitted battery. This has opened up the opportunity for innovative and customer-friendly business models of battery-as-aservice (BaaS) including battery-leasing and battery swapping technology. Battery swapping model, in particular, emerges as a tremendous opportunity owing to commercial fleet operations.

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Other than the operational benefits of lesser refuelling time, an assessment by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) finds that the economics of battery swapping operations for commercial fleet operations requiring electric twowheelers and three-wheelers are more favourable than point charging. While the upfront investment is capitalintensive, such a model' s operational costs are comparatively lower due to lesser land requirement.

Thus, on a levelised cost of energy-basis, the cost of electricity charged to the consumer per unit of electricity sold is significantly lower. This results in substantial savings on fuel expenses to the consumer as well as a significantly lower TCO (INR/km). As commercial fleets undergo rapid electrification, batteryas-a-service is an area that holds great promise for startups and existing energy operators to tap into.

Interestingly, battery swapping services can offer a variety of benefits to the utilities and power sector.

Batteries can act as reservoirs of storage during low energy demand and sell power back to the grid during peak demand periods. The data on charging patterns of commercial fleet operators allows the battery swap operators to plan the charging of batteries and capitalise on low electricity prices. The service can also

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lessen maximum loads on the grid and help avoid the curtailment of renewable energy as it soaks up the energy during excess production. This configuration is a variation of much talked about vehicle-to-grid (V2G) services wherein the batteries providing the ancillary services to the grid are inside the vehicle.

Repurposing batteries for a second-life after a typical EV battery is removed, around 70 percent of the power capacity is retained, which could be repurposed for tasks such as power backup, renewable-energy storage, and grid stabilization. After these second-life actions, the final stage is recycling, wherein high-value metals such as lithium, cobalt, graphite, nickel, and manganese are extracted. Given the heavy usage of commercial EV fleets, the rate at which batteries degrade is higher. So the number of batteries replaced and recycled is higher. At the rate at which commercial EV fleets are undergoing electrification, there is an enormous opportunity for new players to enter the battery value chain.

In addition to the two new value pools above, there is immense market potential for existing service providers – EV charging operators, vehicle manufacturers for purposebuilt EVs, telematics, and IoT service providers. It is evident that with the rise of EVs in commercial fleet operations, the opportunity for start-ups and existing players in the EV ecosystem abound. Tapping into these new opportunities and building an ecosystem will be key to the accelerated transition of EVs in India.

The views expressed by the author are personal

HARSIMRAN KAUR HARSIMRAN KAUR IS A RESEARCH ANALYST AT THE COUNCIL ON ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT AND WATER, AN INDEPENDENT NOT-FORPROFIT POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTION.

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INSIGHTS

FUEL CELLS

And its role in India's future energy and mobility space ABHILASH SAVIDHAN Automotive Professional, Clean Energy and Mobility Enthusiast

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India’s courtship with Electric Vehicles even though was started in 2013 with the National Electric Mobility Mission plan, it is evident that we have not achieved the numbers targeted. Let’s face it, India has a long way to go compared to what China Europe US, or even the Middle East has done. Sure, inroads have been made into the EV space, particularly in the 2 wheeler and 3 wheeler segments. In the last fiscal, 1,56,000 electric vehicles were sold with 1,52,000 being two-wheelers. Many startups have come up with innovative technology and business solutions. But, as a country, India has its own challenges and priorities. Aspirations of the vehicle owner/user are unique to India. Availability of quality electricity 24x7x365, challenges of setting infrastructure, availability of budget for providing supply and demandside incentives, balancing the budget between other important sectors like health, defence, agriculture and education at the same time are just a few challenges we are facing. India is committed to arresting pollution and climate change and at the same time, it is imperative that we must secure our fuel and energy supply. The shift to clean electric vehicles is the means to achieving that end. This transition has to be done in a manner that does not disrupt the current auto industry and the associated ecosystem by taking it off the rails and heading to a crash. That is precisely the reason we have become more realistic by moving “all-electric by 2030” to “no need for any timeline for automakers to switch to electric mobility” as said by Union Minister Shri Nitin Gadkari.

The foremost reason for the slow take off of electrification is the cost of the vehicle, wth battery being the highest cost item in the vehicle. Battery replacement cost is another factor which is holding back potential users/buys. Of course battery costs are decreasing drastically and are expected to touch $100/kWh by 2023, I am of the opinion that after some time prices will start to rise again, due to increase in demand of nickel, cobalt, lithium, and other raw materials used in batteries. Lithium prices within China, as assessed by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, are beginning to rise for the first time in three years.

Another challenge is the availability of clean, reliable and quality supply of electricity. The share of coal in the generation of electricity still hovers around 70%. Sure, we have started moving to renewables and the share of renewables has been increasing. Still, there is still a long way to go from its share of around 20% today. To add to that, India’s transmission and distribution losses are around 20% (some studies say it is much higher than that) due to technical inefficiencies and thefts.

So, the solution is small or no batteries, and clean power with no transmission losses. How do we do that? Green hydrogen, microgrids, clean power generation, renewables.

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Green hydrogen is hydrogen produced using renewable energy by electrolysing water. A lot of activity is happening in this area and green hydrogen production costs have fallen by 40% since 2015 and are expected to fall by a further 40% through 2025. And green hydrogen can reduce carbon footprint in steel and fertilizer production, power generation, and long-range shipping in addition to the mobility sector. With scaling and technology improvements, hydrogen prices are expected to fall by upto 60% in the next decade as per studies by the Hydrogen Council.

How can India Benefit from Green Hydrogen Power?

Housing Societies can have off grid power generation based on green hydrogen.

Villages and Panchayats can have their own power generation facility that does not depend on rains or thermal power stations.

Zero Transmission losses. Power is produced where it is generated.

Hydrogen Filling stations where it is generated. No need of transmission lines and transformers and allied infrastructure as it is required in case of EV fast charging stations or CNG/LNG/LPG filling stations.

India has some 400,000 mobile towers and almost 70% of them face power shortage. Telecom companies use diesel generators, batteries and power management systems to power the towers and this is a huge expense to the operators that eats into their profitability. Diesel prices now being deregulated, diesel prices are not what it used to be. Hydrogen Fuel cell generators are the answer to these. Large batteries are no longer needed.No need for High Capacity and expensive batteries in Fuel Cell Vehicles as the primary source of power is the fuel cell itself. The low capacity batteries and/or the power capacitors are mostly for the extra punch required during transient conditions. And the batteries last much longer than EV’s as they are not subjected to the same charging – discharging cycles as in a battery electric vehicle. This translates into lesser usage of nickel, cobalt and lithium.

Hydrogen Economy and Fuel Cell Vehicles, once cost parity is achieved, makes a lot of sense for India. Of course, it won’t happen overnight. But, slowly, the pieces are falling into place. Reducing electrolyser costs, increasing usage of renewable energy, many companies and startups working on Fuel Cell Stacks, ISRO offering its fuel cell technology in the open; the journey has begun. Manufacturing of composite tanks which can be used for hydrogen storage is about to begin in India. With locally made stack and tanks, for a given range, FCV’s weigh way lower than battery electric vehicles and hence there can be higher payloads and longer ranges. It is important that India take the right steps in terms of local R&D and investments in this sector. The government too needs to make the right noises and give the right push so that we reach the ultimate goal, an energy secure country with a carbon neutral economy and leaders in clean energy technology.

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INSIGHTS

FLEET OUTLOOK 2021 What Are The Motives, Objectives And Forecasts For The Transition To Electric Vehicles In The Year 2021?

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Climate change is one of the biggest issues faced by mankind right now and the biggest contributor to global warming and temperature rise is the continuous exploitation of fossil fuels and its continuous usage in small and medium-size vehicles. India has also opted for quick measures and created various goals under FAME-II where we have planned to sell more than 10 lakh units of EVs by 2022. The target looks a bit ambitious right now especially due to the slowdown after the pandemic but the policies and infra support offered by various state governments recently make the targets look achievable.

Right now progressive logistics companies are looking towards replacing 30% of their existing fleet with EVs by 2030. 30% is a big number and it will surely take some time. The companies are not doing this just for the sake of the environment, yes obviously everyone needs a clean environment for themselves but the increase in cost of logistics whether it fuel prices, increasing taxation on commercial vehicles have made them turn their focus more on EVs. Where the Cost of EV is much higher, the operating cost is lower keeping the longer term EV’s have been in focus.

If we look at the vehicle distribution in the term of sales, commercial vehicles would be somewhere around 30% as compared to the rest of the vehicles, however commercial vehicles travel the most as compared to the personal vehicles and if we can have infra and policy to support the adoption of EV in the commercial vehicles segment, then it would automatically be there for the personal vehicles. Let us look at some of the important points which can further increase the EV adoption in India:

Automobile Manufacturers to go for backward integration: There is a huge opportunity for automobile manufacturers to turn their head backwards and look towards energy as a business. The government has already announced that automobile manufacturers can sell EVs without batteries that will help in reducing the vehicle cost drastically but what if automobile companies come up with their own battery swap outlets and thus removing the need of charging the vehicles.

Expectations from Union Budget 2021 for the EV industry specifically for the commercial vehicle segment would be more on creating a national policy regarding scrapping incentives and road tax exemption for EVs and creating a bouquet of cheaper financing options for logistics companies and original equipment manufacturers.

The views expressed by the author are personal.

PRASAD SREERAM CEO and Co-Founder of COGOS Technologies

Vehicle Financing and Subsidies: One of the prime reasons of people being hesitant to switch to EVs are its costs. EVs are very costly as compared to normal vehicles running on fossil fuels. Various state governments have already started putting their efforts to reduce the costs like exempting road tax, subsidies on interests, scrapping incentives for old vehicles etc. But we think the work will not be complete if we don’t come up with a national level policies which are not limited to certain states only.

Charging Infrastructure: The government has already announced that it will be mandating oil marketing companies to set up charging stations on their outlets but this needs to be taken up on a very high priority if we are really looking to transform how India ships and How India drives, the effort put in by the government has been extremely gracious and we are hoping they would be taking some more steps towards that.

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