The global electric vehicle industry has undoubtedly evolved over the last few decades. Led by China, and followed by other major automobile manufacturing countries, the EV industry is spreading like a wildfire. India, however, was lagging behind in terms of EV penetration, number of models (variants), EV charging infrastructure, and battery cell manufacturing capabilities. But with the introduction of Union Budget 2022 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, India is significantly bouncing back in the race.
In 2021, the Indian EV industry witnessed tremendous growth and the government has been aware that the future in the mobility sector is to shift to EVs. Also, the government knows that interoperability standards will help address range anxiety issues and battery swapping stations will be an asset to the evolving EV ecosystem across the country.
According to Akshit Bansal, Co-Founder, Statiq: “The Union Budget 2022-23 has made a strong case for clean energy and environment by supporting the EV charging segment and according us the freedom to re-evaluate ways for promoting ease of charging EVs with low-cost renewable energy (RE) systems.”
Pairing EV charging with RE structure will result in the positive development of the ecosystem. By introducing the guidelines, the Ministry of Power has opened doors for discussion and investment in favor of public EV charging stations.
After the Budget 2022 announcement, it is expected that this new EV battery swapping policy will assist in expanding EV charging infrastructure. As a result, this will help India to make electric vehicles more viable and create a better ecosystem.
EV battery swapping policy will additionally promote and encourage the private sector to create innovative, eco-friendly, and sustainable business models, improving efficiency. Moreover, an interesting aspect of the battery swapping infrastructure is that it does not require any investment from local power distribution companies. Therefore, this will help in developing the charging station ecosystem which will prove to be beneficial for the EV industry.
This futuristic move can enable affordable and clean mobility at scale. Many EV manufacturing companies are nearing a million battery swaps already and the Finance Minister’s announcement ties in with their vision – clean, affordable mobility: a fundamental right.
As a result, Electric vehicle (EV) charging stations have expanded across nine mega cities. The efforts by the government resulted in a 2.5 times increase in charging stations in Surat, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Che kinnai. 678 EV charging stations were installed between October 2021 and January 2022 in these cities. And about 940 of India’s 1,640 public EV chargers are located in these mega cities.
Therefore, EVs are becoming a central point for India’s environment, energy and industrial policy. Hence, the Union Budget 2022-23 has been in favor of the EV industry, and will favor deeper penetration of green mobility over the coming years.