Hyundai, MG, Mercedes want regulatory support, charging infra for EV adoption
Regulatory support in terms of policies and incentives and availability of charging infrastructure are some of the major factors that would help in the growth of electric vehicles in the country,senior automobile industry executives said on Tuesday.
Participating in an online forum, organised by EESL, the industry experts also expressed optimism regarding the fast growth of the green mobility segment in the post-Covid scenario with people having experienced clean environment due to coronavirus-led lockdown.
"Major challenges for electric vehicle adoption in the country is unavailability of charging infrastructure, affordability and range anxiety," Hyundai Motors India AVP & Group Head (Business Strategy) Brijesh Gubbi said.
He said the South Korean company introduced its electric model Kona in the country keeping all these factors in mind.
"We need regulatory support for EV segment. Personal mobility is not even considered for incentives under the FAME scheme. Also, initiatives like EV battery policy need to come out soon," he noted.
Mercedes Benz India Executive Director Piyush Arora said more incentives were requited for fast adoption of the EV sector in the country.
"Standardisation of charging infrastructure is one such important factor so that different technologies can participate and that would help in EV penetration in the country ," he noted.
Also Read : To boost demand for electric vehicles, FICCI seeks extension of FAME II
Commenting on Mercedes Benz India's plans in the segment, he added that the luxury carmaker plans to come out with its first full electric vehicle EQC in the third quarter of this year.
The model was earlier scheduled to be launched in April this year.
Taking care of customer satisfaction was one of the biggest factors that would influence success of green mobility in the country, he said.
Also Read : Pakistan launches electric vehicle plan, aims to put 100,000 e-cars on roads
MG Motor Chief Operation Officer Gaurav Gupta said high cost of acquisition of electric vehicles remained the biggest challenge for its fast adoption.
He suggested various ways like enhanced local manufacturing of some parts of the battery to begin with in order to bring down the cost.
High Battery cost affects the overall pricing of electric vehicles.
