The promotion of Electric Vehicles in India will lead to a double positive impact on its trade deficit.
"EV adoption will help reduce reliance on fossil fuels hence positively impact the Balance of Trade by reducing the trade deficit," a report by market research agency Tech Arc said.
The report highlighted that India imports crude oil over $100 billion a year, of which 47% is used for passenger cars and trucks alone. India is the 3rd largest importer of crude oil, importing over 84% of its total crude oil requirements.
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1,300 charging stations in India
India sold 2,36,803 Electric Vehicles in FY 20-21, which is 1.3% of the total vehicles sold during the period.
E2W (Electric 2-wheeler) segment contributed 60.7% to the kitty. E2W and E3W, both saw a decline in sales primarily due to the pandemic, but E4W (Electric 4-wheeler) segment registered 52.9% growth in sales over FY 19-20.
During the period, 4,588 E4Ws were sold in India. The growth in E4W was also registered due to Fame-II scheme which provisions for electric buses for various states.
There are over 10 models of EV passenger cars available in India for consumers to buy in the price range of Rs 9.5 Lakh to Rs 25 Lakh. To substantially see the growth of EVs in passenger car segment (E4W), car OEMs need to bring in affordable offerings in the range of Rs 5-10 Lakh.
The charging infrastructure is also growing in India. At present there are estimated 1,300 plus charging stations in India. However, for mass adoption of EVs this needs to exponentially grow.
