The Government is planning to ‘push electrification through public transport’, one way is through framing new rules for cab aggregators like Ola and Uber to convert at least 40% of their fleet to electric cars by the year 2026. According to a press report, the Softbank Group which finance both the fleets may need to bring electric vehicles very soon. According to a policy, Ola and Uber are expected to electrify their fleet by the following rate:-
- 2.5% by 2021
- 5% by 2022
- 10% by 2023
- 40% by 2026
The policy is being pushed to bring down oil prices by cutting down oil import and to minimise pollution by the adoption of electric vehicles. This will also help meet the 2015 Paris Climate Change Treaty. The world leader in electrification, China has set up strict sales targets for its carmakers and offers incentives to fleet operators who use electric cars.
In India, the electric vehicles account for only 0.1% out of 3.3 internal combustion engine vehicle as compared to China’s 62% which is 1.3 million vehicles in 2018. New commercial vehicles sold from 2016 are expected to be electric which also includes vehicles used for commercial food delivery scooters and motorcycles which use apps like Zomato and Swiggy. Also, e-commerce delivery vehicles such as Amazon, Flipkart and the likes are also expected to use electric vehicles. Public transport buses which operate within the city are also expected to induct electric versions – 5% by 2023 and 30% by 2026. Thereafter all new buses are likely to be electric.
The proposal is expected to electrify three-wheelers which are in commercial applications within the next 3 to 6 years. While there are a number of electric two-wheelers manufacturers there are only two electric car manufacturers in the country which is expected to change soon.
Taxi fleet operators like Ola have already tried to operate electric cars in India but they have had little success due to lack of infrastructure and long wait time at charging stations. However, the cab company is still motivated and has raised INR 4 billion from investors.