Mention
Individual files patent infringement case on Ashok Leyland and Sun Mobility for battery swapping technologyedit
Remember Blacksmith? This is the same e-motorcycle maker who has had a gestation period of more than 17 years and is yet to introduce its first product in India. We’ve carried extensive details on who this company is and what they have been doing so far. Production as well as roll-out of its models may be a secondary concern for the Chennai-based start-up.
Industry
5,645 electric buses sanctioned for 65 cities: Kantedit
Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Monday said an inter-ministerial panel has sanctioned 5,645 electric buses for operations in 65 cities, a move seen towards environment-friendly mobility. Last week, the GST Council headed by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman decided to cut the tax rates on e-vehicles from 12 per cent to 5 per cent with effect from August 1.
Sitharaman says government yet to set deadline for automakers to move to EVsedit
As the automobile industry lobbies hard against a proposal of Niti Aayog and Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways, to impose a blanket ban on petrol, diesel fuelled two- and three-wheelers by 2023 and 2025, respectively, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has clarified that the Centre was yet to set a deadline for such a move.
India’s push for electric vehicles is haemorrhaging car makersedit
Indian car makers are in dire straits. Sales have been falling for eight straight months now with no respite in sight. A weaker economy, rising unemployment and pessimism among consumers have led to a steady fall in demand for discretionary products like cars.
Modi government pushes for transition to electric vehicles for public transportedit
The Modi government, through the NITI Aayog, is evolving a policy aimed at making India a global manufacturing hub for electric vehicles (EVs) and speed up the transition to such vehicles. The government think tank does not want to leave this transition to market forces and has recommended making three-wheelers mandatory from 2023, and two-wheelers with up to 150cc engines mandatory by 2025.
EV push, registration charge hike to dent 2-wheeler segment most: analystsedit
Bad news just doesn’t seem to stop for automobile counters. While on one hand the government decided to cut goods and services tax (GST) on electric vehicles (EVs) from 12 per cent to 5 per cent, and on EV chargers from 18 per cent to 5 per cent over the weekend, there is a proposal to hike registration fee for new vehicles. As per the notification, buyers will have to shell out Rs 5,000 for registering new diesel and petrol cars, as compared to Rs 600 charged registration fee and renewal charge now.
‘India has the potential to account for 5% of the global electrical components market’edit
Anil Saboo is chairman of the country’s largest exhibition on the electrical sector, Elecrama, which has been held biennially since 1990. An executive council member of IEEMA, he also serves as MD of Elektrolites. Here, he talks to TOI about his plans for the upcoming Elecrama from trying to rope in US EV maker Tesla as a participant to fostering technological tie-ups for the country’s MSMEs in the electric space. Excerpts:
The 4 factories that could solve one of the last pieces of India’s EV puzzleedit
India, famous for its affordable entry-level cars, remains the only major market without a genuine electric vehicle. The market share of electric vehicles in the country stands at a mere 0.06%, compared with over 30% in a number of developed nations, government figures show. But that could soon change — the country’s plans to go big on electric vehicles may now have finally been put on the fast lane.
Competition
Bounce is Looking to Raise $30 million for Electric Vehicle Armedit
This is in line with its plan to build a distributed infrastructure for EVs using kirana stores and to deploy battery swapping stations across cities. Bounce’s move also mirrors ride hailing app Ola’s approach to set up a separate entity to fuel growth of its EV business.
Bajaj father-son duo hits out at govt on slowdown, EV policy flip-flopedit
At the 12th annual general meeting (AGM) of Bajaj Auto on Friday, the company’s shareholders heard the father-son duo — Chairman Rahul Bajaj and Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj — take on the government for its inability to kick-start growth. They also criticised the government for sending out confusing signals regarding the e-vehicle policy. Eighty-one-year-old billionaire Rahul Bajaj criticised the government for being in denial about growth prospects. His son Rajiv Bajaj said the government’s frequent flip-flop on EVs have left the industry, reeling from slowdown and staring at job losses, confused.
Magenta Power launches compact EV charger at Rs 11,000edit
Looking to ride on the Indian government’s electric mobility push, Magenta Power, an electric vehicle charger manufacturer, promises to turn any location to a vehicle charging station with its ‘ChargeGrid’ Series. The series is claimed to be India’s first fully integrated, unmanned, convenient, payment-enabled open network of smart charging solutions. The company says the ‘ChargeGrid PRO’ series is best suited for community charging at offices, malls and residential societies.
International
China’s Evergrande to bring electric car charging closer to homeedit
Evergrande wants to make it easier for electric car owners to charge their vehicles closer to home. The Chinese property developer announced on July 28 that it had established a joint venture with the State Grid Corporation of China to develop next-generation car-charging technology. Owners of electric vehicles in China pay around three times more to use public-charging stations than they would if the technology were available at home. This is because public utility poles come with a high service fee.
Four-month old Hyundai’s electric Kona SUV explodes in Montrealedit
In yet another incident of an electric car catching fire, Hyundai Motor’s four-month old electric sports utility vehicle Kona reportedly exploded on Friday in Montreal, raising passenger safety concerns. The electric car, bought in March earlier this year, was, as reported, unplugged from the charging socket when the explosion took place.