While electric two-wheeler adoption is witnessing significant growth in the country, the same has not been seen with EV passenger four-wheelers, as high prices, category concerns and EV quality remain the biggest concerns among buyers.
The high price point remains a significant challenge for automakers looking to launch EVs in India. Range concerns are also a significant concern for Indian consumers due to inadequate availability of charging stations.
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To address this issue, companies like Sun Mobility, BatterySmart, Race Energy, Pneumocity, ChargeUp, Bounce Infinite and Sheru are offering battery swapping services mainly for two-wheelers.
According to industry experts, after the success of NIO’s battery swapping model, some companies are trying to replicate it in the Indian passenger car market. Nearly 50 per cent of Indian consumers are now ready to buy an EV, though with a caveat, while 54 per cent are now more concerned about EV quality.
According to John Martin, Analyst, Smart Mobility Practice, CMR, potential consumers for EVs are more concerned about overall EV quality.
“EV quality doesn’t just include exterior build quality, but refers to the overall quality of internal components — including batteries and others,” Martin said. Upstream R&D in battery development, along with ongoing policy thrust at the central and state levels for the development of EV infrastructure, will ensure a significant increase in e-mobility.
“For OEMs, the focus should be on creating a continuous awareness of the quality and potential of EVs,” Martin said. However, to ensure a smooth transition to EVs and provide long-term value to customers, “it is important to reduce purchase costs by improving battery technology, expanding charging infrastructure, and standardizing charging sockets with faster recharging “, said the CMR analyst.
According to a report by Redseer, though the benefits of switching to electric two-wheelers are clear, there are several challenges to be overcome with ‘range anxiety’ being the most prevalent barrier among consumers.
“The range offered by most electric two-wheelers in the market is much higher than the average range, which is around 25 km, with 90 per cent users traveling less than 50 km/day. However, a long ride is still There is a challenge in the minds of electric two-wheeler owners, said Aditya Agarwal, partner, Redseer Strategy Consultants.
Though the purchase cost of electric two-wheelers is slightly higher, they win when it comes to running costs as compared to their internal combustion engine (ICE) counterparts.
According to experts, the electric two-wheeler ecosystem must work on the `4As` – adaptability, awareness, availability and affordability – to achieve over 80 per cent electrification by 2030.