India Will Need 4 Lakh Charging Stations to Serve 20 Lakh Electric Vehicles By 2026: Report
The report also mentions the impact of the pandemic on the emergence of a new consumer who is eager to be healthy, breathe clean air and build a better, more resilient world for the next generation.
A recent Grant Thornton Bharat-Ficci report suggests that in order to serve 20 lakh electric vehicles that could be running on our roads by 2026, India will need to install 4 lakh EV charging stations.
The report states that several factors will play a role in the achievement of the government’s vision of 100 percent EVs by 2030. These would include more government support, low cost of technology, and distressing pollution levels.
As per the EV industry body – Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles – there are 1,800 charging stations in India as of March 2021 for approximately 16,200 electric cars, including the fleet segment.
“Overall, the EV infrastructure is tightly coupled with the EV and charging station characteristics, battery technologies, and electricity markets,” the report said.
The increased subsidy offered to two-wheelers is likely to bring down the cost of vehicles by 10% to 25%, though the numbers can vary depending upon variable parameters like battery capacity, cost of vehicles, etc.
“More than half of the stakeholders, as part of a survey in the report, have also recommended the involvement of discoms in Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) deployment and classification of EV charging infrastructure as corporate social responsibility.”
Besides, the survey suggested design simplifications, partnership during the transition, and optimisation of urban mobility as effective cost reduction levers for bringing down EV costs in India.
“Global manufacturers have spent millions to improve the availability and efficacy of EV chargers, and as a result the fastest ones today take no more than 15 minutes to recharge a vehicle.”
“The global sales of EVs in 2020 increased by 39 percent y-o-y to 3.1 million units, whereas the total passenger car market declined 14 percent.”
In addition, the report mentioned about the impact of the pandemic on the emergence of a new consumer who is eager to be healthy, breathe clean air and build a better, more resilient world for the next generation.
“The year 2020 has presented a great responsibility and opportunity to fast track the development of electrification and electric vehicles (EV) by utilising the strengths available globally through a collaborative and integrated effort,” said Saket Mehra, Partner, Grant Thornton.