Union Budget 2022: Indian EV brands react to new battery swapping policy
The Electric Vehicle market is gaining a foothold in the Indian automotive market at an impressive rate. The government’s special schemes such as FAME II have been instrumental in pushing sales. During the Union Budget 2022 speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made a new announcement for the expansion of the EV ecosystem.
The govt plans to introduce Special Mobility Zones that will only allow fossil-fuel-free vehicles. Additionally, there’s a new battery swapping policy that also goes a long way in increasing EV adoption.
The move towards cleaner and greener options such as electric vehicles is appreciated. However, the new budget may have fallen short in terms of providing clarity about the ongoing schemes such as FAME.
BGR.in talks to some of the stakeholders in the EV ecosystem about the latest announcements.
Magenta EV
Maxson Lewis, Managing Director & CEO, Magenta said, “The Union Budget 2022 did show its intent on promoting cleaner mobility. The fact that the Union Budget 2022, did not focus on the traditional Auto business does show the intent of the government to focus on new technologies with its zero fossil fuel policy.”
He further said “The fact that the government will also formulate interoperability standards to improve the efficiency of EV business is a good indication and will support the growth of the infrastructure.”
However, Lewis believes that more could be done to promote EVs. He said, “What was missed was an explicit statement of the extension of the FAME scheme and how it can support the expansion of the charging network in India to help facilitate the switch from petrol and diesel-based vehicles to EVs.”
Bounce
Vivekananda Hallekere, CEO & Co-Founder, Bounce, said “We welcome Honourable Finance Minister’s progressive vision to facilitate faster adoption of electric vehicles in the country. With the Budget 2022 -2023 announcement on bringing out a robust battery swapping policy, this is a vindication of the path that we have pioneered for Bounce. Government and policymakers have recognised battery swapping as the most effective solution to accelerate EV adoption in India by addressing range anxiety and hesitancy in adoption as well as considering the pragmatic aspects of setting up charging infrastructure – for instance, space constraints in urban areas for dedicated charging stations. We believe this move can enable affordable and clean mobility at scale.”
Chargeup
Varun Goenka, CEO, and Co-Founder, Chargeup said, “One of the most pressing needs of the day is to establish a network of battery charging and swapping stations across India that can eliminate the range anxiety and encourage people to adopt EVs with greater confidence.
He further said, “The support for interoperability would lead to battery standardization. The push towards public transit usage by establishing more EV exclusive zones wherein private or non-electric vehicles will be barred is something we had been anticipating.”
Okinawa Autotech
Jeetender Sharma MD & Founder, Okinawa Autotech said, “The Union Budget 2022-23 provides great encouragement for the EV sector. The introduction of the battery swapping policy to improve the country’s EV infrastructure is a positive and progressive step that could potentially address the range anxiety issue, which is one of the impediments to a mass-market transition from internal combustion engine-based vehicles to electric vehicles. This policy will be critical in enabling a well-established EV infrastructure across the country while instilling customer confidence in riding EVs on Indian roads. More importantly, this will boost EV adoption in the last-mile delivery space, where time constraints make instant battery swapping more viable than charging the existing battery.”
Simple Energy
Suhas Rajkumar, CEO & Founder, Simple Energy said, “It is heartening to see that the government is looking at transitioning to EVs at a faster pace. Although battery as a service can be implemented for certain areas only, encouraging the private sector to create sustainable business models is a welcome move. Impetus should be given on developing safer battery packs as swapping stations cannot be applied to direct consumers given the safety aspect as this will further lead to making the ownership of the vehicle complex.”
Indigrid Technology
Sambit Chakraborty, Board of Adviser, Indigrid Technology, said, “The policies should take a holistic approach to ensure that there is a proper and adequate supply network of swappable packs and swap stations so that it works as if someone is fuelling their vehicle and is able to “swap” in 2-3 minutes. Ground charging does not really work except at home (not for commercial purposes) because of the load it will exert on the grid and the time it takes. Convenience especially for the last mile operators, gig economy players and home tests/collections is key.
He further said, “There is a proliferation of low quality Chinese players who are “cheap”. There are substantial safety and dependency issues being built into the system. If the policy can build in a structure to raise the safety and “atmanirbhar” aspects and the made in india aspects – that will be a boon for india in the long run. There are many Indian manufacturers of safe batteries and swap stations who would then not have to choose to lower quality and safety standards.”
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