COVID-19 is a black swan event which continues to bring with it untold hardship for individuals and businesses across the world. The automotive industry in India reached its lowest troughs with the entire value chain coming came to a grinding halt. The combined estimated de-growth between FY19 and FY21 (YoY) could be in the range of 33 to 38 percent. This is based on current GDP projections for FY21. If in case there is a 1% slide in GDP the consequent results for the auto industry would be catastrophic.
Changes in Buying Patterns
While it is too early to understand changes in consumer buying behaviour post
COVID-19, it is worthwhile to note that according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), Tesla delivered 10,160 vehicles in China in March, the automaker’s best results in a single month ever. This was reported in April, 2020. Tesla managed the result in a month when the overall passenger car sales in China, which is the biggest auto market in the world, were down more than 40%. It is expected that consumer orientation towards enabling a greener planet along with greater consciousness towards health and wellness and greater emphasis towards personal mobility would be emerging factors after the pandemic subsides. EV makers would have to leverage inherent strengths in the platform to build feature-rich, safe cars that take care of new customer sensibilities and desires.
Non-Negotiable Green Agenda
A lone, but powerful ray of light as an outcome of COVID-19 has been on the ecological side. The effect of the lockdown has been dramatic on the climate. In New Delhi alone, the air pollution levels dropped more than 70% in the first week of the lockdown itself. In India the number of motor vehicles on the roads double every 8-10 years and CO2 emissions from conventional engines are bound to get worse. It is indeed a privilege for many of us to have a part to play in India’s goal to reduce oil dependency while solving the challenge of energy scarcity and the move towards renewable and clean sources of energy. It would be only becoming of the EV industry – albeit a tall order during these rough times – to rededicate itself to the greener good of country as also push for true energy independence with maximum adoption of EV in the country.
It is worthwhile to mention that Electra EV is sparing no effort to accelerate the future of electric mobility in India. The company offers relevant and affordable EV powertrain solutions, systems and services to support OEMs, orchestrators and tier-1 suppliers. It is also worthwhile to note that the India market, and for that matter globally too, a one-size-fits-all approach cannot work for electric mobility. As a specialist company in the electric vehicle powertrain market, Electra EV is continuously innovating to bring new solutions to the forefront in its core areas of powertrain optimisation and energy utilisation. The company does this through developing and adapting electric powertrain technologies and by utilising a systems approach to arrive at range and torque requirements in real use case scenarios. A large part of the development today is centred around validating solutions in these conditions. Electra EV also leads the charge with industry partners to research consortia, working on various battery chemistries for range and life extension.