TVS Banks On Solar, Wind Power For EV Charging Stations

Taking another step towards developing the Indian electric vehicles (EV) ecosystem, motorcycle giant TVS Motors has decided to invest heavily in clean energy generation through solar and wind power for its EV charging infrastructure.

The Chennai-headquartered company has decided to invest INR 6 Cr in the financial year 2019-2020, ending March 2020.  The conversion to clean energy will be a part of TVS Motor’s ‘Group Captive Mode’ initiative, under which the company will focus on its future course to conserve energy.

Under the initiative, the company will invest in the development of the following:

1. New technologies to reduce emission
2. Reduction of carbon dioxide to meet future norms
3. Sustainability through alternative materials and processes
4. Reduction in weight, cost and improvement of vehicles
5. New technologies in the areas of hybrid and electric powertrains

The investment will be a part of TVS’s Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) policy through which the company wants to combat climate change by improving energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy.

In FY19, TVS Motor also invested INR 8.79 Cr to switch from high-speed diesel (HSD) to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or propane autogas for paint application process to reduce its carbon footprint.

Two-Wheelers Go Green In India

According to a report by US-based Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), the prices of electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers in India are expected to become cheaper faster than the fuel-run variants by 2023.

The report highlights that US will lag behind India for at least seven years in this aspect. The report also adds that the electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers will make up for 80% of EV sold by 2023.

Looking at this aspect, TVS Motors have been trying to enter the Indian EV market both directly and indirectly. In 2017, TVS Motors invested in Bengaluru-based Ultraviolette Automotive, which launched its zero-emission connected electric motorcycle F77 last month. TVS Motors has invested close to $2.5 Mn in Ultraviolette Automotive for 25.76% stake in the company.

TVS will also be launching its own electric motorcycle Creon, expected to cost between INR 72K to 82K. The bike is backed by a lithium-ion battery and can go up to 100 Km per hour from idle within 5.1 seconds. Besides Creon, TVS will also be launching Zeppelin next year. The company has also launched other electric and hybrid two-wheelers like iQube in 2018.

In addition to all this, TVS Motors also claims that it follows a clean development mechanism (CDM), under which renewable power contributes to 60% of its overall power consumption. The company claims that these initiatives have reduced its carbon dioxide emissions of 50K tonnes in the last financial year.