Various modes of transport play a highly crucial role in the sustainable growth of any country
[1]. Current vehicle market is mostly dominated by internal combustion (IC) engines and
compression ignition (CI) engines [2]. However, it is well-known that the world is gradually
shifting towards electric vehicles (EVs) to overcome the carbonization caused by conventional
engines [3]. Considering Indian statistics, the growth in EV sale figures are highly encouraging.
According to the report of NITI Ayog [4], the sales of EVs increased by 71% is the FY2020 as
compared to FY2019 even after the COVID-19 outbreak. However, there was a reduction is sale
figures of electric public transport in FY2021 due to social distancing protocols, whereas an
increment in personal EV sales was also observed. In the FY2022, the sales of EV have
increased to 275% compared to FY2021, which stands out to be almost 15% of the total share of
the vehicles sold in India [5], [6]. On the other hand, there is also a section of population that
agrees that the EV is highly beneficial in reducing global emission, yet reluctant to procure EVs
due to various setbacks associated with it [7].
Among various challenges related to the wider acceptance of EVs, the limited range, lack of
charging stations, higher purchase price, higher charging time, and lack of aftermarket products
and service expertise are of the primary importance [8]. Among the mentioned setbacks, the
wider acceptance of EVs along with certain initiatives will itself promote the charging stations,
aftermarket products and reduction in the skilled labor charges for maintenance. The major
challenges for the research fraternity are to mitigate the range anxiety among the consumers, and
providing solutions to reduce product cost and charging time [9]. In addition, the lack of
charging stations exaggerates the range anxiety with the users, which can also be addressed by
improving the vehicle range [10].
References:
[1]
R. D. Knowles, J. Shaw, and I. Docherty, Eds., Transport geographies: mobilities, flows,
and spaces. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub, 2008.
[2]
S. Verma, G. Dwivedi, A. Zare, and P. Verma, “Life Cycle Assessment of Greenhouse Gas
Emissions of Electric and Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles in India,” SAE
International, Warrendale, PA, SAE Technical Paper 2022-01–0749, Mar. 2022. doi:
10.4271/2022-01-0749.
[3]
P. Suttakul, W. Wongsapai, T. Fongsamootr, Y. Mona, and K. Poolsawat, “Total cost of
ownership of internal combustion engine and electric vehicles: A real-world comparison
for the case of Thailand,” Energy Reports, vol. 8, pp. 545–553, Nov. 2022, doi:
10.1016/j.egyr.2022.05.213.
[4]
German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety
(BMU) and NITI Ayog, India, “Status Quo Analysis of Various Segments of Electric
Mobility and Low Carbon Passenger Road Transport in India,” Deutsche Gesellschaft für
Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, India, 2021.
[5]
“Annual India EV Report Card: FY2022,” JMK Research & Analytics.
https://jmkresearch.com/electric-vehicles-published-reports/annual-india-ev-report-cardfy2022/ (accessed Jan. 31, 2023).
[6]
“Society of Indian Automobile Manufactures.”
https://www.siam.in/statistics.aspx?mpgid=8&pgidtrail=9 (accessed Jan. 31, 2023).
[7]
F. Un-Noor, S. Padmanaban, L. Mihet-Popa, M. N. Mollah, and E. Hossain, “A
Comprehensive Study of Key Electric Vehicle (EV) Components, Technologies,
Challenges, Impacts, and Future Direction of Development,” Energies, vol. 10, no. 8, Art.
no. 8, Aug. 2017, doi: 10.3390/en10081217.
[8]
“Consumer Interest and Knowledge of EVs: 2020 Survey Results,” Consumer Reports,
United
States,
Research
Reports,
Dec.
2020.
[Online].
Available:
https://advocacy.consumerreports.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/CR-National-EVSurvey-December-2020-2.pdf
[9]
H. Lee and A. Clark, “Charging the Future: Challenges and Opportunities for Electric
Vehicle Adoption.” Rochester, NY, Aug. 31, 2018. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.3251551.
[10] H. A. Bonges and A. C. Lusk, “Addressing electric vehicle (EV) sales and range anxiety
through parking layout, policy and regulation,” Transportation Research Part A: Policy
and Practice, vol. 83, pp. 63–73, Jan. 2016, doi: 10.1016/j.tra.2015.09.011.