Electric Vehicles This Week: MG Motor, BYD’s EV Plans For India, Germany Leads EU Market & More

According to a report by the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) titled India Electric Vehicle (EV) Market Overview, the EV market in India has gained significant momentum after the implementation of the FAME India scheme and the launch of new EVs from the likes of MG Motor and Mahindra. The report estimates the segment to grow at a CAGR of 36% till 2026. The EV battery market in India is estimated to be US$ 520 Mn in 2018 and forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 30% till 2026.

Meanwhile, Taiwan and Gurugram-based power and energy management company Delta Electronics, optimistic about the EV market in India, believes that the electric vehicle charging industry will grow at 50% per annum in the next three years. The company has supplied over 700 EV chargers of different capacities and specifications across the country. The company has the capacity of producing 100 EV chargers per month. In the next three months time, Delta Electronics is expected to ramp up its facility to manufacture 500 EV chargers per month.

Chart Of The Week:

When it comes to the capacity split by battery types, the Indian EV market is heavily skewed towards the less efficient lead-acid batteries. The government effort in recent months has been to boost the production capacity of lithium-ion batteries in India.

EV News From India

Huddle, growX Launch Accelerator For India’s EV Startups

Incubator and accelerator Huddle and early-stage venture capital firm growX ventures have announced an acceleration programme for EV startups. RACEnergy and Cell Propulsion have been selected in the first batch of the programme. Huddle said that the selected startups will be given access to dedicated mentors, seed funding, business development opportunities and relevant pilot testing facilities with its other corporate and startup partner companies such as Exide, Tata and Swiggy among others.

Sanil Sachar, cofounder and partner at Huddle said that the electric vehicle adoption in the three-wheeler segment has been promising. However, the availability of high-speed three-wheeler remains scarce and unaffordable, he added, which the startups are looking to solve.

Flyy Partners With Chennai Metro For Electric Bikes

Chennai-based dockless bike rental startup Flyy has launched a fleet of keyless, smart and eco-friendly bikes in partnership with Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL). The startup will charge INR 1 per minute to users for renting their electric bikes. According to Flyy’s website, anyone with a valid driving license can rent the electric bikes. Moreover, after the end of their ride, passengers can drop these electric bikes anywhere within the serviceable areas which are marked as green and blue zones over the mobile app.

Ahmedabad-Based Greenvolt Launches Mantis Electric Scooter

Ahmedabad-based electric vehicle startup Greenvolt Mobility announced the launch of its first ‘no challan’ electric two-wheeler Mantis across select metro cities in India. Greenvolt will begin sales of the electric two-wheeler on December 22 starting with Mumbai, followed by launches in Bengaluru, Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, early next year.

Interestingly, customers do not require a driving license or vehicle certifications or registrations for the Mantis as it falls in the category of no-challan bikes.

MG Motor To Launch Affordable EV For India

British automotive company MG Motor has announced that it would develop a concept electric vehicle (EV) for the affordable segment, priced under INR 10 Lakh, for the Indian market. MG Motor director Rajeev Chaba said it has already started working on the project, taking suggestions and inputs of local consumers in the country. Chaba said that MG, which is owned by Chinese company SAIC Motor, is currently evaluating various aspects like the production, battery cost, capacity, range among other issues.

China’s BYD Looks To Boost Electric MPV Market In India

BYD is all set to open bookings for its new electric multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) — T3. The company said it has received orders for 200 units already and aims to sell around 10K units within two to three years.

Under its ‘7+4 Full Market Strategy’, BYD has divided its EV catalogue into conventional and special vehicles. The conventional type consists of seven types of transportation passenger vehicles, taxis, buses, coaches, urban logistics vehicles, urban construction vehicles, and urban sanitation vehicles, whereas the special type vehicles include transportation for mining, ports, airports, and warehousing.

Startup Of The Week: RACEnergy

Founded in 2018, RACEnergy was started by Arun Shreyas and Gautam M. The company builds high-performance retrofit kits to convert existing three-wheeler internal combustion vehicles into electric vehicles. It also offers energy infrastructure support through its proprietary battery swapping stations. The company is backed by growX Ventures, Prophetic Ventures among other investors.

RACEnergy has chosen a unique model to enable electric mobility among auto-rickshaw drivers and other three-wheeler owners. The startup helps rickshaw owners and fleet operations transition to electric drivetrains, thereby allowing them to save more when in operations and cut down emissions and costs.

EV News From Around The World

Norway Loses Top Spot In Europe EV Market To Germany

Germany has overtaken Norway as the leading market in Europe from the point of view of all-electric vehicle sales in 2019. Till November, 57,533 new EVs were registered in Germany, whereas Norway, which has finished on top in this list from 2010 onwards, managed 56,893 registrations, according to a Bloomberg report.

Analysts expect German manufacturers to triple their electric vehicle offerings to 150 models by 2023 with a projected investment of 50 Bn euros by 2024.

Porsche Prepares To Launch EVs In Australia

Porsche is getting ready for the rollout of its electric vehicle Taycan in Australia and has begun preparing the infrastructure ahead of the launch. The company is rolling out its destination electric vehicle chargers in several locations around the country as part of its five-pillars approach. Besides the Porsche Taycan, the company is offering eight plug-in hybrid vehicles in the country. The Taycan is set to launch in 2020.