State govt must step up its efforts to promote EV: Anuj Sharma, Chairman, e-Rickshaw Committee

New Delhi: Electric Vehicle industry in India has seen a sharp incline amongst sellers and buyers but its component manufacturing is yet to see any transformational change. Several entrepreneurs have entered the market to build 2-wheelers and 3-wheeler EV but the reality remains that most companies assemble EV components since they don't have the 100% indigenous manufacturing capacity.

Speaking with the Hans India, Mr. Anuj Sharma, Chairman, e-Rickshaw Committee, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, GOI, said that state government must step up its efforts to promote EV adoption since the Central government has already done its part by launching FAME I and FAME II policy.

"Indian government wants to bring down the value of dollars (as against Rupees) in the country, and slowly fade out the use of crude oil. Now, the losses we are facing on crude oil, that is being channelised towards clean energy vehicles. The P.M has also talked about subsidies on renewable energy…," Sharma told Hans India.

The EV manufacturer believes that states such as Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are at an added advantage on EV manufacturing since the state governments have taken measures to provide policies and land to support the companies. He said that EV entrepreneurs are looking for support on land, infrastructure, production, and on the same lines the state government must design policies.

"There are other states such as Telangana who have shown interest in supporting the EV industry in India. The Rajasthan government also made an announcement last year but mere announcement won't make any progress if the support is not taken at the ground level. The process must be streamlined for manufacturers to set up their business and acquire land. States like U.P, Haryana and Karnataka are aggressively working towards promoting EV," Sharma has said.

On the current challenges in the EV industry, Sharma said that one of the hurdles for companies is to figure out the logistics and assembling components from different parts of the country. He noted that if every state has EV manufacturing plants, then it will be beneficial to both seller and buyers as customers may get a concession of 15-20% on the EV vehicle.

Speaking at the recently held EV expo, Sharma said that states that have single window registration for manufacturers can cut down upto two years of waiting period to set up the business. On the concerns looming over EV durability and safety, Sharma believes that the battery component of EV is to be blamed.

"China holds 98.5% shares in patent control of lithium technology. Even if I bring some technology from the U.S or Europe, there will be 30% to 50% Chinese investors in those companies. Also, most EV batteries are designed to withstand 25 degrees of climatic condition, whereas in India the climate condition can go upto 40 degrees. We need to develop batteries that can withstand hotter climatic conditions. ISRO is helping, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has also directed IITs to come up with a suitable innovation for batteries. If we rely too much on one country, then they will take advantage of that monopoly and manipulate the market," Sharma said.

He has said that in the last eight months, Chinese manufacturers have increased the prices of lithium batteries upto three times. With the ongoing inflation and hike in GST rates, Sharma has appealed to the central government to lower the bill on raw materials and provide land space to set up manufacturing and R&D of EV.