World EV Day: Mahindra, Okinawa commit to more electric vehicles, charging infrastructure
Considering that every single day, there are a bunch of new electric companies cropping up and introducing new products, many manufacturers stressed on the importance of EV adoption and charging stations.
Manufacturers are slowly turning towards making their existing products into electric or perhaps planning all new cars/bikes. We have companies like Mahindra with existing products being converted to suit electric customer needs. Some like Bajaj Auto get in all-new scooters like the Chetak with an electric powertrain. Whether big or small, every carmaker or bike manufacturer is joining the fray. Today on the occasion of World EV Day, many manufacturers have pledged their allegiance to an electric future while few have re-emphasized the point. We asked these electric vehicle manufacturers their thoughts on this momentous occasion and here is what they have to say.
Mahindra Electric Mobility
Mahesh Babu, MD & CEO of Mahindra Electric Mobility, India. “Our goal with EVs is to revolutionise first and last-mile transportation globally and take e-mobility to the masses. World EV Day is a great forum for us to discuss the next big ideas for the global markets and we take this opportunity to launch our MESMA 48 platform globally.”
Meru Mobility Tech Pvt Ltd
Meru Mobility Tech Pvt Ltd spokesperson had this to say.
“We are in the midst of a paradigm shift towards a sustainable future. With the rapid technological advancement and increasing awareness, Electric Vehicles are gaining momentum not only for personal mobility but also for shared mobility. Switching over to e-mobility, we tied up with Mahindra and Mahindra to introduce electric cabs in 2019. Since then we have focussed on researching and developing tech infrastructure and adding more and more electric cars in our fleet. Today, we have nearly 300 EV cabs which travel a distance of a million kms every month in Mumbai and Delhi. We aim to convert 50% of our fleet to electric vehicles by 2025.”
EESL
Saurabh Kumar, EVC, EESL said, “There are no two ways about the fact that the future of mobility, not only in India but globally, is electric and it is time we equipped ourselves for it. With a supportive policy framework, India’s journey towards electric mobility has commenced. It is now incumbent upon us as stakeholders to join forces and enable a clean, green, and electric future for better public health and quality of life for ourselves and our coming generations.”
Okinawa
Jeetender Sharma, MD and founder said, “ In the past few years since e- mobility entered India, there has been significant growth in the sector. At Okinawa, we have retained over 3000 units post lockdown got lifted, with around 25 % dealerships still not operational. The idea of e-mobility has been warmly accepted in tier 2 and tier 3 regions as well. In fact, we receive more demand from tier 2 and tier 3when compared with tier 1. If the current graph is considered then it will not be wrong to say that in the coming times acceptance of EV will smoothly help the entire auto industry recover from the slowdown. This will fuel the growth of the sector while saving the environment and money to the user. This World EV Day I urge users to just moot upon the fact that how imperative it is to make the ICE to EV shift. EV is a win-win for all.”
ABB India
Tarak Mehta, president ABB Electrification commented, “Today marks an important milestone in the history of e-mobility with the world’s first EV Day. As headline partner, ABB is delighted to see so many individuals from around the globe taking positive action by signing the pledge. At ABB we are committed to inspiring drivers towards a sustainable electric future. As such we have launched an ABB fleet electrification pilot program, starting in the UK and with other countries including the Netherlands set to follow.”
Ampere Electric
P Sanjeev, the COO of Ampere Electric said, “The world today is in a dire need for change. A sustainable and admissible change that will not only make this ecosystem more habitable but will also reflect upon our choices as an evolving species & what we want to leave for next generation. With the growing pollution level & increasing consciousness towards better health due to pandemic there has been a rising need for safe, affordable and reliable mobility solutions& the electric 2 wheeled vehicle segment has started to gain prominence in the country. While the transition to EV is still at its nascent stage; favourable policy environment, required EV infrastructure and innovative EV technologies will enable the growth of the EV exponentially in the near future. As one of the leading players to enable EV adoption in the country, we are working relentlessly to create an affordable last-mile clean mobility network with innovative products, easy financing & subscription options, exchange options all backed by strong service & retail network.”
Eeve India
Harsh Didwania, co-founder and director of EeVe India said: It’s #WorldEVDay, so now’s the ideal chance to begin the excursion to a greener world. 2020 has been a noteworthy year for moving the push towards clean portability with different nations setting focuses for emission-free transportation acquainting motivations with support deals of electric vehicles, including all the more charging framework just as numerous automakers adding electric vehicles to their setups. India is making little yet solid strides towards putting more electric vehicles on its streets as India intends to turn into a 100% electric-vehicle country by 2030. Premise this development, we are confident that in the coming years EV market can possibly develop exponentially where EeVe India will be one of the significant partners.
Simple Energy
Suhas Rajkumar, founder, Simple Energy said: On the occasion of World EV day we at simple energy pledge to plant two trees for every scooter we sell and one tree for every “matrix supercharger” station we deploy and also commit to develop long-range affordable products to help push the Greener future. Also, Market for Electric vehicles in India is the largest in the world and has a great growth rate in the upcoming year’s many new players have introduced new EV products for the end consumer to choose from and looking at the current market buying choices especially in the recent times this growth has helped as more consumers are committing themselves towards a Greener and cleaner future. To add further, there has been aggressive development of supply chain for EV industry in the last few years and this has made it easy to manufacture EV’s in India and also cut down the costs with this strong supply chain development has pushed many automakers to make a good and affordable EVs. Moreover, in the next two to three years we wish to see every household to start replacing an ICE with an EV.
Omega Seiki Mobility
Uday Narang, chairman of Omega Seiki Mobility commented, “2020 has been an enlightening year in terms of EV production around the globe. Gaining an eye of customers towards the new technology, companies are leveraging their resources to provide the best to their customers as a constructive alternative to conventional petrol-powered vehicles. Also, EV technology is not only going to benefit the environment, but it will be equally impacting the economy of the country by generating an impressive number of technical and non-technical jobs. The Government of different states in the country has come up with several policies with a clear motto of expanding the credibility of EVs in the country. With special incentives and subsidies on both Commercial & privately owned vehicles. At Omega Seiki Mobility, our prime focus is to excel in our inventory in commercial Smart EVs including Smart Logistics Trucks, Mini trucks, Two-wheelers, etc. With the clear agenda of Hon’ble Prime Minister’s ‘Vocal for Local’, our motto is to be self-reliant in terms of spare parts manufacturing, including batteries and other complex spare parts. Our team is tremendously putting efforts in terms of innovation, sustainability, and credibility for manufacturing best-in-class EVs for the Indian Markets. Thus, the goal is to make our nation an EV superpower in the coming years.”
E-Trio
Deepak MV, CEO and co-founder, E-Trio said, “While the world slowly re-emerges from the Corona pandemic, EVs are bound to play a significant role in the new world order. The moment of reality for EV adoption in the country has arrived. Its a culmination of multiple factors including extensive govt support, growing environmental consciousness of customers & companies on one side and introduction of innovative and reliable new products, increasing localization of supply chain and rising diesel prices coupled with decreasing battery prices resulting in the competitive total cost of ownership of electric vehicles on the other. The two-wheeler and three-wheeler segment in applications like personal mobility and intra-city logistics will be the forerunner for EV revolution in the country. With changing mindsets and innovative business models, EVs are all set to take-off. This #WorldEVDay is a celebration to this shift to green mobility.”
Lets Transport
Pushkar Singh, CEO and co-founder, Lets Transport said, “With high delivery costs in India, recasting incumbent cost structure is inevitable. Having aggregated over 60,000 mini-truck owners, we know first-hand that this undeserved community feels the brunt of the cost of ownership the most when compared to any owners of any other vehicle segment, including passenger segment. This is not the case for electric vehicles. With battery prices slashing and the many EV policies being drafted across the country, we see a huge push towards usage of EVs in the logistics fleet. We ourselves have incorporated EVs in our fleet and foresee more penetration in light commercial vehicles for the 3PL and ecommerce sector in the coming years. I think celebrating World EV Day is a wonderful initiative as it’ll create more resonance on the benefits of its usage to ensure sustainable commerce.”
Cogos Technologies
Prasad Sreeram, CEO and founder, COGOS Technologies: “We congratulate the EV world for the maiden WORLD EV Day on sept 9th and hope this brings out more awareness about EV, with a pledge to move towards a sustained world. COGOS’s is a firm believer in the sustained commercial transport is the need of the hour, where we are launching soon Made in India, Light commercial EV’s to transform the intra-city or the local logistics for Enterprises. While great strides are being made in ICE through technology and transport platforms like COGOS, we need a break through adaption of alternates including EV for a greener world.”
Source : financialexpress
