What’s Going On Here?A report out on Friday predicted a third of all vehicles sold in India will be electric by 2030. What Does This Mean?India’s been slower to embrace EVs than most other major markets, which won’t be helping the world’s third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gas reach its target of being net carbon zero by 2070. But that might change soon: a new report projected that foreign investment in the industry will rocket from $6 billion in 2021 to $20 billion by 2030, as globally established companies seek to make the most of the world’s fourth-biggest car market. Layer in some hefty government subsidies, and India could soon be cooking with gas – or, uh, electricity. In fact, the report predicts that Indian EV sales will pass 10 million – equivalent to 10% of the world’s EV sales – by 2030, way up on last year’s paltry 400,000. That’s not all cars, mind you: two and three-wheel EVs will likely lead the charge, as their four-wheel counterparts will still be too expensive for many of the country’s drivers. Why Should I Care?Zooming in: Power up.
India will have to upgrade its sparse charging network if it really wants EVs to take off. After all, an electric scooter’s no use if there’s nowhere to charge it. But it’s got a long way to go: India’s proportion of charging stations to EVs was just 6% in 2021, lagging behind the UK’s 9% and China’s whopping 18%.
The bigger picture: Eco-consciousness costs.
But there’s a wider issue threatening EV adoption: inflation. See, carmakers – like everyone else – have been upping their prices recently, bringing the average cost of an electric car to $61,000. Now here’s the thing: the average price of a new vehicle – including non-electric ones – is $46,000, and that’s already out of reach for more than half of all Americans. That doesn’t bode well for electric car sales, and suggests EV adoption could be stuck in park until prices come down. | 