Mention
Elon Musk And The Mirage Of Tesla In Indiaedit
Will Tesla chief Elon Musk finally bring his much sought after electric cars to India within a year? That’s what he said while speaking with a team of students from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, who were competing in the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition 2019. Suyash Singh, who was taking part in the hyperloop competition with a team called Avishkar, confirmed the comments by Musk through email.
Industry
Revving up e-vehicle financingedit
A fintech digital lending start-up, it is building an advanced platform to underwrite and manage consumer loans through its own non-banking finance company. To target climate change, it provides loans for the financing of e-rickshaws and e-scooters.
Despite push, government departments show little appetite for electric carsedit
State-run Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), which was tasked with procuring 10,000 electric cars for government departments by January 31 this year, has been granted a year’s extension, owing to lack of demand for their deployment to replace diesel- and petrol-fuelled vehicles in existing fleets, according to the ministry of power.
A ‘Shell’ for Indian start-ups to solve energy challenges of the futureedit
At a time when Royal Dutch Shell plans to become the world’s biggest power company in the next 15 years and is focusing on a future after fossil fuels, the Netherlands-based firm is increasingly engaging with young energy technology companies in India.
Pradhan’s announcement on CNG stations is a positive signaledit
It is sad that your editorial (30 July) looks at only the dark and negative side of the government’s audacious plan to stop production of all petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030. Coming from an opinion making and highly respected economic daily, it is bound to create serious doubts in the thinking of the people and will further erode the chances of success of this programme that promises huge long term benefits of containing pollution and mitigating the deadly march of climate change.
Getting into nuts and bolts of building electric vehicles to be next challengeedit
Founders of electric vehicle (EV) startups in India have said that the raft of government incentives offered to electric vehicle sellers should also be extended to component manufacturers to encourage them to build factories in India. In addition, goods and services tax imposed on components for electric vehicles should be reduced to strengthen the cash flow for such companies.
The solar transformation of electric vehiclesedit
The Indian economy is currently on its way to becoming one of the fastest developing countries, and is expected to be valued at $3 trillion, this year itself. Furthermore, with consistent investment towards infrastructural and policy reformations, India is, in fact, projected to grow into a $5 trillion economy, within the next few years.
Competition
CECRI to make EV batteries; invest ₹100-credit
The Tamil Nadu-based Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CECRI), a research institute under the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, has decided to set up a factory to produce batteries for electric vehicles. It plans to invest ₹100 crore to set up the unit at its campus in Taramani, Chennai.
Tata Motors to launch four new electric vehicles; electric Nexon, Altroz in the pipelineedit
Tata Motors will have five electric vehicles on the roads in 12-18 months in an effort to capture maximum share of the segment which is getting a major push from the government.
Ashok Leyland prepared to meet EV demand: Anuj Kathuriaedit
Ashok Leyland’s next-generation air-conditioned minibus, Oyster, has been designed and manufactured for staff and tourists, says Anuj Kathuria, chief operating officer, Ashok Leyland. In an interview with Swati Khandelwal, he said in the commercial vehicle segment, bus demand in the first quarter has been almost similar to the year-ago period.
Karara Bajajedit
Rahul Bajaj rarely minces words. Few are surprised that, amid all the gloom in the Indian automobile market, the chairman of Bajaj Auto has apportioned a chunk of the blame to government policies. Speaking at the company’s annual general meeting (AGM), he called the government out for being in denial over the economic slowdown. “There is no demand and no private investment,” he reportedly said. “So where will growth come from? It doesn’t fall from the heavens.”
International
Nissan expands Leaf electric car to the biggest Latin American marketsedit
Latin America has been underserved by automakers when it comes to electric vehicles, but Nissan is looking to change that by launching the Leaf in the biggest Latin American markets. Nissan confirmed that it began selling the Leaf, its best-selling electric car, in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Colombia this month.