Mention
SmartE raises Rs 100 crore in fresh funding from Mitsuiedit
Electric vehicle fleet operator SmartE has raised Rs 100 crore in fresh funding from Japan’s Mitsui & Co, as it looks to grow its fleet size in its home market Delhi-NCR and expand its service to other major metros in the country. SmartE operates close to 1,000 electric three-wheelers in Delhi-NCR providing first-and-last-mile connectivity to commuters. The company has partnered with the Delhi Metro to provide its services across stations in Delhi, Gurgaon and Faridabad.
IMTMA to host National Productivity Summit 2019edit
Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association (IMTMA) is set to organize the 13th edition of National Productivity Summit 2019 on 20 – 21 August 2019 at Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC), Bengaluru, India.
Industry
Changes in motor vehicles Act won’t affect states’ powers, says Nitin Gadkariedit
Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday made a strong pitch in Lok Sabha for the passage of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019, saying it will weed out corruption, improve road safety and usher in the use of more technology to regulate traffic. The Congress, however, accused the Union government of trying to curtail powers of states with the proposed changes in law and also claimed that it will bring in privatisation in the sector.
Grofers to deploy 500 electric vehicles by Decemberedit
Taking a cue from other e-commerce firms, Grofers is joining the electric vehicle bandwagon. The online grocery startup said on Monday that it is looking to deploy 500 electric vehicles for its last-mile delivery by the end of this year. This comes at a time when the central government has been pushing towards the use of electric vehicles. While Grofers started piloting with electric vans last year by deploying 50 vehicles in Delhi, it is only now that the firm is taking serious steps in this direction.
How will industry move to data monetization with EVs and Connectededit
Motor morphosis – Connected, Autonomus, Shared & Electric (CASE). These four megatrends are revolutionizing today’s automotive industry at a speed, that probably the term “CAR” won’t be heard 30 years from now. What the trends described above have in common is their contribution to an unprecedented explosion in vehicle generated digital data with significant impact not only across traditional auto industry but for new age tech players also.
Is India’s dream for electric vehicles viable in the long run?edit
The Modi government has made it abundantly clear that it wants an electric vehicle-future in India, and has set targets for it. All three-wheelers manufactured in India would have to be electric by 2023, two-wheelers with an engine capacity of up to 150cc manufactured in India should be electric by 2025, and 30% of cars sold after 2030 should be electric.
How energy storage technologies are set to transform the energy landscapeedit
Over the last few decades, the demand for electricity has grown considerably in India and many other developing countries. In 2018, India’s annual gross electricity generation reached 1486.5 TWh, with about 79% of this generation produced from fossil fuel combustion.
Competition
Pragmatic policy likely on electric two-wheelers in a few months: TVS Motoredit
TVS Motor Company Chairman and Mananging Director Venu Srinivasan hopes to see a sensible policy in a few months from the cental government on electric two-wheelers. He says the industry has been in talks with the government on the NITI Aayog proposal for a switch in this regard by 2025. Srinivasan indicated to his shareholders on Monday that the proposed timeline seemed over-optimistic.
International
EV Transmissions Are Coming, And It’s A Good Thingedit
Recently, ZF announced a two-speed EV transaxle/drive unit, and around the same time, more details about the Porsche Taycan came out. For the Taycan, there was more confirmation that the vehicle will have a two-speed gearbox (at least in the rear). In response, I’ve seen a good number of EV fanatics on Twitter and Facebook panning one announcement or the other.
Second-hand electric cars ‘twice as expensive’edit
The cost of second-hand electric cars has soared since the start of the year because of a shortage of new models being sold in the UK, research suggests. Figures published by Auto Trader showed that the average price of a used battery-powered car last month was twice as high as that for a diesel or petrol equivalent. Prices of second-hand electric vehicles increased by 12 per cent since the start of the year while costs remained flat for other used cars.