A consortium of Ola, Mahindra Electric, TVS, Kinetic Safar, Acme Group and some original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) has approached various state governments with innovative business models to electrically power taxis and auto rickshaws.
The consortium has offered a plan for Kerala to retrofit registered three-wheelers with battery-operated systems at a nominal cost of Rs 100 per day or easy installments of Rs 3,000 a month to recover the conversion cost of Rs 40,000 – 50,000 Without waiting for a formal policy and incentives from the government, which wants batteries to replace liquid fuels as the predominant source of automotive power by 2030, the consortium has offered a plan, to Kerala Government, to retrofit registered three-wheelers with battery-operated systems at a nominal cost of Rs 100 per day or easy installments of Rs 3,000 a month to recover the conversion cost of Rs 40,000 – 50,000.
Companies have also offered support in replacing petrol and diesel taxis and buses and in setting up of fast-charging infrastructure.
Ola is upbeat about its experience with e-vehicles in Nagpur. Here Ola had launched India’s first multi-modal electric vehicle project, with 200+ electric vehicles across cabs, buses and auto rickshaws along with a robust infrastructure of charging stations which made this pilot project a success and reinforced the belief in “sustainable mobility”.
States like Kerala are ready with draft plans for switching to electric vehicles. Himachal Pradesh has also placed a tender for 10 electric buses to be plied on the pilot Manali-Rohtang Pass route.
The operational expenses of an electric car are one-fourth that of diesel and petrol vehicles.