Electric Vehicles This Week: Yulu’s Amit Gupta On Future Of Mobility, Honda-GM Partnership & More

This week, we hosted Amit Gupta, cofounder and CEO of electric vehicle (EV) startup Yulu, in the fifth edition of its ‘Ask Me Anything’ series. In the discussion with Inc42 cofounder and CEO Vaibhav Vardhan, Gupta touched upon the change in consumer behaviour, upcoming market opportunities and the rise of consumer mobility space.

Gupta highlighted that after the current lockdown, users will not have the elasticity to spend on a personal mode of transportation. Therefore, this will set a new trend in the consumer mobility space.

India might witness new business models wherein cabs and bikes could be used for ferrying of goods as well as passengers. A similar model had already been tried in China, Gupta said and added that even in India, intercity buses carry passengers and parcels between cities.

Currently, there are many interesting collaborations that have started happening in the gig economy. For example, Uber and BigBasket have collaborated to ferry groceries.

“Combining grocery delivery and cab-hailing might be a market opportunity in the future but how will you deliver grocery and transit the person still needs whiteboarding.”

He also pointed towards the opportunity in hardware innovations, as low-cost public transportation will continue to be the primary mode of transit for most Indians in such an economic slowdown. According to Gupta, India will probably see everyone wearing some kind of a PPE, which is created for just commuting.

Chart Of The Week: Market Adoption Of Electric Vehicles

The extent to which India needs to build up capacity in EV production and manufacturing is clear based on a comparison with the global leaders. While China is the global leader in production, Norway leads the world in terms of penetration.

EV News From India

Taiwan’s JS Power Plans To Make Battery Packs For Indian EVs

Taiwan-based EV battery packs and cell manufacturing company JS Power is looking to target the two-wheeler and three-wheeler segment in India. Besides this, the company will also be focusing on stationary energy storage solutions in India.

Indian EV Battery Swapping Market To Reach $6.1 Mn

Due to increased run-time, improved remunerative prospects for shared e-mobility drivers, the demand for electric vehicle (EV) battery swapping is rising in India. As per a P&S Intelligence report, the Indian EV battery swapping market is projected to reach $6.1 Mn by 2030, registering a growth of 31.3% between 2020–2030.

Dive Into EV Ecosystem With Inc42’s Reading List

The EV Race Begins: Shared Mobility Takes The Pole Position

The call for green mobility has never been bigger and e-mobility is a clear winner in terms of zero direct CO2 emissions. Simultaneously, startups are trying to understand the potential impacts of EV production and its usage life cycle.

The opportunities in the EV ecosystem can be classified into six broad areas that startups are targetting in the Indian market. Given the nascent nature, none of these models has become the flagbearer for the industry, however, shared mobility and EV production seems to have the easiest scale-up opportunity.

How Electric Vehicles Will Impact Electricity Demand

Ever wondered what impact electric vehicles will have on the demand for electricity in India? With the electrification of mobility happening at a rapid pace across the country, many industry experts believe that the domestic market is set to expand to a whole new level over the next 1-2 years.

But is India prepared for electric vehicles? Will India be able to manage the grid capacity for the EV ecosystem or will its consumers have energy anxiety, given that electric vehicles are to a great extent already synonymous with the range and charge anxiety in the country?

Lessons From China: Why Battery Recycling Is Crucial For EV Growth In India

In India, only 3,600 passenger EVs were sold in 2019, so the market is nowhere close to the global leaders. But India is preparing to transform 30% of automotive sales into e-mobility by 2030. To get there, it not only needs to create infrastructure but also prepare for the battery recycling problem from the very beginning stage. It will help to solve the e-waste problem and open new business opportunities in India.

Value-Creation And Market Competition To Pump Up India’s EV Demand

In order to curb down air pollution and adhere to the Paris agreement of 2015, India has taken several proactive steps to catalyse the adoption of electric vehicles among the public at large. Electric vehicles (EV) startups in India are at the forefront of India’s clean mobility dream. As per our latest report on the EV market in India, the EV startups have raised combined funding worth $601 Mn between 2014 to 2019.

But few important lessons which India can learn from other EV success stories are — the establishment of better-charging infrastructure, improving the value-creation of EVs in the consumer’s mind by educating the potential buyers about its advantages and allowing international players have a level-playing ground in the country.

Brand Value Emerges As Key Factor As India’s EV Startups Tackle Auto Giants

When it comes to influencing the customer decision-making process, brand value has always played a vital role among Indian consumers. In the context of automobiles, Indians generally hold the big automakers in high regards, especially the ones that make affordable vehicles for the mass market.

EV Headlines From Around The World

Global EV Sales Set To Crash

As per a new research by research and consultancy group Wood Mackenzie, EV sales across the world have plunged by 43% in 2020. WoodMac estimates that only 1.3 Mn EVs will be sold in 2020, noting a decline from 2.2 Mn units sold last year.

Honda, GM Join To Launch New EV Models 

Japanese auto giant Honda has partnered with US-based General Motors to develop new electric vehicles for international markets. The electric cars are expected to go on sale from 2024 in North America.