Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday asked Indian companies to boost their electric vehicle technology and find alternatives to lithium-ion batteries to make India the largest manufacturing hub in the world for electric vehicles. He said the world is now no more interested in doing business with China.
“I am confident that in five years Indian will become the number one hub for manufacturing electric buses, cars and two-wheelers. There is also a blessing in disguise that majority of countries are not interested in dealing with China anymore. So, now there is a huge potential for India,” Gadkari said.
He was talking at a webinar, titled ‘India’s electric vehicle roadmap post COVID-19’. Gadkari’s push for making India self-reliant in EV production comes amid heightened tensions between India and China following the border clash on the intervening night of June 15-16 that left 20 Indian Army soldiers dead.
Gadkari said, with petroleum fuel being available in limited quantity, the world has to look for alternate and cheap sources of power. He said, electric and bio fuels stand a good chance for adoption. He also indicated towards the ensuing vehicle scrapping policy, and commented that it will give a fillip to auto manufacturing sector. The Minister recalled the London model of public transport, where private and public investment is working well. He said, adopting similar approach will be beneficial for both the poor commuters and the civic administration. He indicated towards working on a pilot project for developing an electric highway on the upcoming Delhi-Mumbai Green Corridor.
Gadkari expressed full confidence in the capabilities of the auto sector, and said, with consistency and self confidence in this economic crisis, it can gather good market opportunities. He also called upon the industry to go in for indigenisation and support Prime Minister’s ‘AtmNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.’
More than 80 per cent of all EVs produced globally comes from China. The country also has the largest reserves of lithium in the world, thereby helping it establish a near monopoly in the lithium ion cell market. Lithion ion is the heart of a modern-day EV, which stores electricity that is used as fuel to power vehicles.
Only in recent years did India give up older generation lead acid type batteries to shift to lithium ion. Even though most components going into an EV are manufactured in India, battery cells have to be imported from China.
Leading electric vehicle models such as Bajaj Chetak, Mahindra Treo and Ather 450, in addition to almost half a dozen electric bus making companies, rely on battery cells imported from China. Mahesh Babu, MD and CEO, Mahindra Electric Mobility, said, “We import only the battery cells and everything else is made in India by us.”
“It is time for Indian scientists, innovators and startups to find out Indian alternatives to everything. We should not be dependent on anybody. Any scheme which will help us become self-dependent, government can think about extending support to them. I am aware that there are issues about lithium ion batteries and other components, but today startups are working on different technologies. We have to look for imports substitution, particularly for batteries,” Gadkari stated.
Gadkari also mentioned about a possibility of offering income tax benefits for research undertaken in this field. “For the purpose of research, every industry should have a research wing. If you can give me a proposal and if there is any need for income tax concession, we can work on it. Every manufacturer should do his own research,” he said.
