HT Auto's EV conclave is here to kindle discourse on electric vehicles

It’s time to switch gears. As Planet Earth faces an unprecedented crisis, it’s time for everyone to step up and play their part. Cars/two-wheelers are taken out of their parking spots and onto the roads and millions of kilometers are driven on a daily basis. One of the keys to tackling climate change is reducing vehicular emissions.

It’s 2021 and gone are the days when petrol and diesel cars/two-wheelers would dominate the roads and our television screens. The electric vehicle (EV) revolution is here and it is sweeping through India. The world is currently in the middle of the biggest revolution in motoring since Henry Ford's first production line started turning back in 1913, and India’s role in EV adoption is just getting started.

To support the move toward electric vehicles, and to further the discourse, Joy e-bike presents Hindustan Times Auto EV Conclave powered by Volvo. The EV Conclave will take place on the 10th and 11th of August.

The keynote session, on August 10th at 5:30 PM IST, will be delivered by Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India. There will be six sessions (two on day one and four on day two) thereafter that will delve deep into the EV movement in India, affordability for mass adoption, charging infrastructure and so much more.

Here’s a detailed guide into just what one can expect from each and every session.

Day 1: August 10th

First session: Volvo one-on-one: In the first session of the EV Auto Conclave, Volvo, a Swedish auto company, will be talking about the ongoing EV movement in India along with their expectations from the Indian market. The company will bring forth details about their XC40 Recharge electric vehicle that is set to debut later in the year. There'll also be some talks about charging infrastructure, mass adoption, and much more.

The second session on day one is titled, “Taking EVs to Masses in India - Challenges and Opportunities". There are a few key areas of discussion :

- Is there and can there be an EV revolution in two-wheelers

- Can the dependency on China for key auto components be brought down

- Can the EV revolution move being the Tier 1 (metropolitan cities) cities

- Affordability and charging infrastructure - should there be a public-private collaboration

- Takeaways from the EV movement in the EU, US, UK, and elsewhere

Day 2: August 11th

Day two begins with a keynote address from Mr. Alok Katariya, Transport Minister, UP Government.

The first session on day 2 is one-on-one with Joy E-bike, India’s first and fastest-growing electric two-Wheelers company. “EV adoption in India is growing as there is a greater push from all the stakeholders - the private enterprise, Government, the consumers all looking at faster acceptance," says Ravindran Nambiar, President, Ward Wizard Innovations and Mobility Limited who will be present to address the session.

The second session is called "Luxury EVs - Can Top-Down Effect Boost Clean Mobility Movement?" The session will lay out the market response to EVs launched by international players such as Mercedes, Jaguar, and Audi and talk about any possible cuts to the sky-high import duties auto manufacturers face.

To build support infrastructure, one needs to collaborate with one. The merits of this will be a topic of discussion. Finally, we come to luxury car buyers. Will they be willing to buy into the EV revolution, and what is the state of conventional luxury cars (high-performance models) as we move from petrol/diesel to electric vehicles.

The third and final session of the conclave is titled, “Policy Ecosystem for EVs" and will start with a very important topic of discussion: Is their potential for EVs to expand personal mobility options for women in India. This will further include the gender demographics of EV buyers and if women play a role/influence in the decision of buying an EV.