I actually liked the Reversal from Govt. on this topic. Because - The demand of fuel would go down drastically if the countries like China and US take a leap towards EV. By that time, the cost of EV also be competative. And market force itself will ensure the penetration. Govt. can have both “Laddu” - ‘Cheaper fuel’ as well as ‘market force driven - EV push as it becomes competative’. If the need arises, Govt can always bring in the policy which suits best at a later point in time.
Government decision this time looks more reasonable and makes more sense.
A technology will only create a disruption when it’s affordable as well as better.
So EVs are better but not affordable yet.
And government can see that it cannot run it on subsidies. After all car is a luxury in India and can’t be subsidised will not make any sense neither do we have budget for it. So let the EV disruption take it own course but the direction should be towards it. A disruption in low cost batteries and low cost small EVs can change the game.
Investment in Charing infra should be another area of concern. Long way to go on that front also.
Happen to see one of the interview on EV, many people don’t know that almost 40% of EV cost is the battery and it’s replacement period is 5-7 years. Given this fact EV vehicle resale cost is almost nothing… In indian scenario this use and throw is not going to work where upfront investment in prohibitive… How many people personally would prefer to go for EV knowing these facts?
Prashant here is a video on how well li ion batteries are lasting.
Start at 3.15
There is a company in San Francisco that has used a model S as a taxi service and driven it way beyond a normal owner would. The battery performance would surprise you even after 200k miles. Also there are talks of using the used batteries in grid storage for many years after their time in cars. So these will last a long time.
I doubt majority of people will need to replace their batteries every 5 years. Outliers will be there due to usage, charging quality, manufacturing quality etc.
This is just one study. I am sure if one is inclined they can find a lot more supporting evidence online.
Great video! Thanks for sharing. Before watching this I was convinced the battery economics won’t make it feasible for EVs to work in India. Changed my mind 
Ola EV pilot project in trouble due to lack of charging infra. Cost of batteries, range of EV and charging infra are major roadblocks
May be silly, solar charging while you car is parked in office
Solar charging is not silly at all… That is the trend in USA…
Solar power for cars is not silly for sure. Solar power has to be one of the options as it can charge the car through most part of the day for free.
Also, till the charging infrastructure is widely and easily available, probably a hybrid charging model needs to be developed by the car manufacturers.
I guess, as the solar technology progresses over the next few decades, the body of car could be made of Photo voltaic material so that the cars will get self-charged while they are being driven around. So there will be no need to charge the cars ever again !!
Many companies developed thin film solar panels which can be pasted on to surface
McKinsey says:
In summary, we may see an era of profitable mass-market EVs on the horizon, driven by design trends toward flexibility, integration, and simplification that maximizes customer value, and under the clear governance of cost efficiency for mass producibility.
Check this link … BYD start supply of Dump Trucks in Shenzhen City which is biggest hub of Electronic manufacturing & R&D. Shenzhen is major City of Mainland China next to Hong Kong.
Trucks can run up to 280 KM with full Load powered by Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery.
City administration Targets reduction of carbon emission by 1.61 million ton, Sulphur dioxide 31,200 Ton & Nitrogen oxide by 9,100 Ton.
Battery Charging time 90 Minutes.
This time is too high! This does not include the wait time for getting the charging slot. Commercial vehicle operators are not going to spend 1.5+ hours re-fueling their vehicle. This needs to come down heavily to make electric vehicles an attractive proposition for users. This post details how Ola’s electric cab launch in Nagpur is floundering due to high charging times.
In Shenzhen you can found charging spot in every parking, Fuel station or even road side shops. Lacs of electric cars or Buses(almost all public transport buses are electric) running in Shenzhen. So finding charging spot is not difficult.
Secondly if you calculate permitted speed limit of dump truck is 70 Km/h . so that mean in single battery charge operator can run upto 4 hour. As per Chinese driving law driver need to take 20 Minute rest after every 4 Hour & single shift must not be longer than 9 hour.
so yes operator need to spend 1 hour extra for battery charging but Govt. want to save environment & construction co. need to follow Govt. orders in any case if they want to work in Shenzhen city.
In our country Govt. need to show same will as chinese Govt. showed 5-7 year back if they want electric driven vehicles on road.
Battery swapping seems to be a solution suitable for India.
A 500-kg battery in the Circuit S bus can be replaced in 2.5 minutes