Electric Vehicles This Week: Covid-19 Impact, Volvo’s Safest EV

Last year a World Economic Forum (WEF) report had highlighted that India is set to be the biggest electric vehicle (EV) market in the world, mainly due to the measures taken by both the central and state government, which announced a slew of incentives and subsidies.

However, the current global lockdown and further economic slowdown have de-accelerated the Indian electric vehicle revolution. The mobility sector, which is a big customer base for EV makers, has been impacted heavily. However, EV makers are not deterred, they have their plans set for the post-Covid market.

From new launches to expansion, Indian EV industry has been prepping up. Spokesperson of German automobile maker Porsche told Inc42 in March this year that the development of the Indian market for electric vehicles has just begun.

Meanwhile, Balbir Singh Dhillon, head of Audi India, also elaborated that the EVs are the way forward but the market is not going to develop overnight. He added that infrastructure plays an important role and tangible measures by the government towards e-mobility infrastructure and adequate support towards the import of electric vehicles would be a welcome move.

Chart Of The Week: Covid-19 Impact On EV Industry

EV News Of The Week

YC-Backed Skill-Lync Launches EV Master Class

Chennai-based online learning platform has launched a master course in electric vehicle design and simulation for both full-time and part-time duration. The course costs around INR 2.75 Lakh.

“As a whole the automotive industry is shifting to developing electric or hybrid electric vehicles. But there is no educational institution in India or across the world which teaches the technical aspects specific to these domains,” said Skill-Lync cofounder and CEO, Suryanarayanan P, highlight the reason the company decided to offer this course. The startup, founded by Sarangarajan V and Suryanarayanan in 2019, provides job leading courses for mechanical, electrical, and civil engineering students in India.

Kinetic Introduces Range of Fogging and Spraying Electric Vehicles in India

Kinetic Green Energy and Power Solutions Limited has launched a number of solutions to disinfect indoor and outdoor areas using emobility. It has launched an e-fogger and e-sprayer range for disinfecting outdoor areas like public places, slums, industrial campuses, hospitals, and residential townships.

The e-Fogger is available in two variants — water-based solution and kinetic fogger. Meanwhile, the company will be using its three-wheelers to spray and fogging operations across congested areas or small lanes of slums, old city areas, and more. Kinetic Green Energy has rolled out a UV Santiser that can be used indoors like offices, rooms, and hospital rooms.

BMW India Joins To Help Healthcare Providers

Following the footsteps of MG Motors, German luxury carmaker BMW Group India is launching special services for frontline healthcare professionals who are fighting Covid-19. The services will be available in BMW dealership service centers across the country.

“Earlier this month, BMW Group India pledged its contribution to fighting COVID-19 through its various CSR initiatives and by providing critical care equipment and services for medical facilities in Delhi-NCR and Chennai,” Arlindo Teixeira, acting president of BMW Group India, said.

Dive Into EV Ecosystem With Inc42’s Reading List

Will Covid-19 Accelerate Growth Of India’s Electric Vehicle Ecosystem?

Amid the uncertainties due to the coronavirus pandemic, there is still a glimmer of hope for electric vehicle manufacturers in accelerating the growth of the electric vehicles market. But that would require a big change in the ecosystem from the point of view of manufacturing.

Sean Mitchell from All Things EV said that electric vehicle manufacturers need to decentralise their supply chain, particularly the raw materials, which they can source it closer to the manufacturing locations or else it will significantly impede the growth of the electric vehicle manufacturers.

In other words, companies need to focus on procuring raw materials and the production of battery cells locally on a continuous basis. Similar to Tesla with its gigafactories. “This (domestic production) insulates them as a manufacturer producing electric vehicles just a little bit more if they can source their raw materials from the same continent, where the vehicles are produced,” added Mitchell.

EV Headlines From Around The World

Lenovo Unveils M2 Electric Scooter In China

Tech company Lenovo has unveiled its electric scooter M2 in China. The scooter will be available in two colour options and weighs about 12 Kg. M2 can go up to 25 Km per hour and can take between 3 to 4 hours to charge fully, covering 30 Km on a single charge.

The scooter will be available in two colours, black and white, and will be priced at CNY 1,999 (approximately INR 21,360).

Volvo’s Polestar 2 Claims To Be The Safest EV

Swedish luxury carmaker Volvo has claimed that it’s Polestar 2 will be the safest electric car ever. The car will be equipped with safety features for its battery by making it more structurally stable, “acting as a damper to reduce so-called Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) [for passengers within]”.

The car will provide a stiffer body structure, minimise damage to the collision. “In the event of a crash, the battery pack is automatically disconnected from the rest of the vehicle. This ensures there is no live connection, is protecting it during a collision is key,” the company said. Besides this, the company is also looking to offer additional updates to the structure of the body.

CHAdeMO To Introduce EV Charging Protocol In China This Year

CHAdeMo, a body that governs EV charging protocols, has rolled out a new protocol to support “ultra-high-power” charging rates above 500 kW. The protocol was jointly developed by CHAdeMO association and the China Electricity Council (CEC).

The CHAdeMO 3.0 protocol will be released in China in 2021 under the name “ChaoJi”. It will utilise a new plug type that is compatible with the Asian superpower’s GB/T plug type. It will also allow long-range EV to recharge driving range from empty to full in around 15 minutes.