In a country where electricity is still finding its way to lighten up some parts of the grid and there still are villages which are considered as ‘Off the Map’, lays an opportunity which reveals a very major aspect to replace a major resource and shuffle it with electricity to fight with increasing fuel prices, increase in global warming, air pollution and depreciating fossil fuels.
Despite being a very niche segment, the electric two wheeler industry in India has a lot of potential in terms of opportunity but shares a cluttered approach towards organizing the industry as a whole and reading the changing trends of the Indian consumer. Various players have already created their place in the market by constantly evolving and learning through the mistakes made in the initial steps.
Demand Vs Supply: What Went Wrong
According to a report by livemint, the number of electric two- wheeler makers has fallen from 28 in 2011-12 to 7 in 2014-15 and their existing 10,000 dealers have an unsold stock of 30,000 units. Only 16,000 electric cars and two-wheelers will be sold in fiscal year 2014-15, down from 100,000 in 2011-12.
There are a lot of factors that eased the curiosity and excitement in the Indian consumer to overlook the rising electric two wheelers as:
Lacking Consumer Trust
The major distrust that erupted in the initial stages of the debut of electric two wheelers in the country was their performance which created an image that was realistically not in favour of these E2W’s as the initial products performed very poor in terms of backup, acceleration and even design.
Ather Technologies: “The early stage E2W’s gave a speed of 25 km/hr, had problems with acceleration, their battery lasted 8-9 hours on an average, needed a change in about 8 months or every 5000 kms, whichever came first.”
Creating Awareness
A very big element playing a pivotal role in this segment is the awareness that people have about the rising climate change issues and how shifting from fossil fuels to an energy source like electricity will help the planet.
Competing with Fossil Fuels
It has been proven that fossil fuel is 40 times more efficient than a lithium ion battery and hence it is needed that manufacturers should not aim to create the best electric two wheeler but they need to create a vehicle that can compete with a fuel based vehicle.
What’s Needed
To move towards the goal, there is a mere need to improve our technological abilities as the future of the E2W’s is totally dependent on our technology. Sohinder Gill, CEO, Hero Eco, “Infrastructural changes are long-term strategies that will take years to materialize and till then the government can intervene with policy frameworks and innovative solutions to ensure the survival of EV manufacturers.”
Other factors that create hesitation while opting for one of these vehicles are the regulations that need to be marked from the government allocating towards:
- The severe unavailability of allied infrastructural requirements for electric vehicles such as charging points is a major problem.
- Providing essential financial support to EV manufacturers is necessary to stop them from burning out.
- The government can set a precedent by using EVs in different governmental operations. Such stable client base will also motivate manufacturers to undertake more Research and Development efforts to further reduce per unit cost of EVs.
- "Electric vehicle segment has a huge potential. With the central government rolling out the FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) scheme, the sector is poised for growth," said, Ayush Lohia, CEO, Lohia Auto Industries.
Opportunities
There are a lot of developed and emerging opportunities that have been created by the birth of the future innovators and the players that are already settled in the electric vehicle industry. Speaking about the new transformations that will change the consumer mindset Gill Added “lithium-ion batteries are replacing the conventional devices, thereby bringing EVs at par with top-performing IC vehicles.”
There are a lot of players which are offering exclusive dealerships to investors to sell and market its products; an emerging player in this segment is Lohia Auto which was setup in the year 2008 to create an eco friendly vehicle that could fulfil the basic criteria for commuting with a pocket friendly approach. “We are providing exclusive dealership outlets for our two wheeler segment which will cater towards sales, service and repairing services catering all of the required amenities at a single stop”, said Lohia.
The inaugural of this segment will not only evolve the organized sector but will give birth to new unorganized opportunities that will initially drive the growth of the sector as temporary charging points, electric chargers, batteries, new courses and lastly not an opportunity to make the planet a better place to live.
