Mention
Ola, Mahindra, Bounce: meet the companies lighting up the road for electric vehicles to go the distanceedit
Electric vehicles are all the rage, at least in a part of the public transport space. Bike-sharing platforms like Yulu, Mobycy, Rapido, ONN Bikes, Bounce, Vogo, and Ola’s new EV venture, Ola Electric, are all looking to go electric in order to survive and thrive in the $300 million ride-sharing/rental market in India.
Industry
Two-Wheeler Industry questions viability of FAME IIedit
Autocar Professional’s third edition of the Two-Wheeler Industry Conclave 2019 on March 15, 2019 saw all roads lead to the event, held at the Hyatt Regency in New Delhi. From 9am, when the event began, industry stakeholders across the automotive value chain began to queue-up to register their presence at the important event. Within an hour, the Regency was a packed house.
India Short on EV Parts Makers, to Rely on Chinese Importsedit
India, the world’s third largest automobile market, will rely more on China for components as the government steps on the gas to go for electric vehicles. In the financial year 2018 alone, Chinese exports to India touched $4.3 billion, up 27% over FY13, with the automobile industry executives saying that there’s no sign of slowing down in the future.
FAME-II: Govt sets up panel for monitoring, sanctioning of projectsedit
The government has constituted an inter-ministerial panel for monitoring, sanctioning and implementation of projects under the Rs 10,000-crore FAME-II programme, aimed at incentivising clean mobility. The Project Implementation and Sanctioning Committee will be chaired by the secretary in the Department of Heavy Industries and will have other members including NITI Aayog CEO, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade secretary, Department of Economic Affairs secretary and secretaries in the power and new and renewable energy ministry, among others.
International
Kia Partners With Amazon To Sell Charging Stations For Electric Vehicles In The USedit
Kia Motors America (KMA) in partnership with Amazon Home Services has announced a new program for its plug-in vehicle customers. The program will see Amazon sell and install electric vehicle charging stations at the customers house or office. The tie-up makes Kia, the second automaker after Tesla in America to offer the service online with the electric charging network. The manufacturer says the process of purchasing and installing a charging station will be as easy as buying other products on Amazon.
Germany Still Can’t Make Up Its Mind About Electric Carsedit
The German auto industry has been through quite a scandal surrounding dieselgate. But that’s not stopping some from clinging to diesel. The Verge reports, “Germany is divided about the future of its most important industry: while some automakers pursue electric vehicles, a noisy group of diesel-energy enthusiasts are expressing their frustration through protests. These have gone on every weekend so far this year.”
BMW, Varta apply for funds in battery cell push for e-carsedit
Luxury carmaker BMW and Germany’s Varta have both applied for state funding aimed at supporting battery cell production for electric vehicles, they said on Friday, hitting a deadline set by the German government. Germany has earmarked 1 billion euros ($1.13 billion) to support a consortium looking to produce electric car battery cells and plans to fund a research facility to develop next-generation solid-state batteries.
Who’s winning the electric vehicle race?edit
Oil-rich Texas is an unlikely spot for an electric vehicle demand surge. But John Luciano, general manager of a Volkswagen dealership in Amarillo, says his customers are juiced about EVs, suggesting the market might finally emerge from niche status nationally. “If there is interest in Amarillo, Texas—which is truck country—there is definitely interest,” he says.