India At 75: Anish Shah Charts A Green Revolution In Transportation
Only if it is affordable for as many Indians as possible, will India’s EV revolution be long-lasting, writes M&M’s Anish Shah.
Every year around Independence Day, a folktale I read a long time ago comes to mind. It’s a story known to everyone – of a merchant and his caged parrot, and how the bird ultimately chose freedom over life in a golden cage. For me, the visual imagery of freedom is that parrot taking flight into a blue sky.
As I write this piece for BQ Prime’s ‘India At 75 And Beyond’ special feature, I can’t think of a better expression of freedom than ‘a freed bird.’ One of the many aspects of ‘being free’ is the idea that a person can go wherever the heart desires. Free mobility, at least from a sociological perspective, is the most important element of freedom.
India is celebrating its 75th year of Independence – and what our country has achieved so far is simply astounding. We were a country plagued by poverty, illiteracy and other socio-economic conflicts when we first set out on our journey in 1947. But brick by brick, strong-willed Indians rebuilt their country. Today our country is an economic powerhouse with significant progress made across sectors such as manufacturing, IT, agriculture, defence and space technology.
The fate of this great country and Mahindra Group are entwined. Both were born around the same time – and took their baby steps together. When India did not have pucca roads, we built sturdy jeeps to allow a youthful, free nation to travel. When the country was staring at a food crisis, and when the seeds of green revolution were being sown, we started our farms business. We started our technology business when IT services became an important mainstay of our economy. We were present when the youth of our nation first discussed financial services and start-ups, and we assisted them in whatever way we could. Believe it or not, the horoscopes of India and Mahindra were always aligned and well-matched.
As we look ahead to the following 75 years, we see a lot of challenges. But am confident, that this resolute nation will overcome almost all of them. The greatest threat to India—and the rest of the world—is climate change and ecological decline. And the transportation sector, or more specifically traditional modes of mobility, is amongst the biggest polluters in the world.
Adopting environment-friendly transport is our only panacea to avert an impending ecological disaster.
Clean Kilometres
The essence of sustainable transportation is to have more ‘clean kilometres’ in the transit mix. When you drive or hire an electric vehicle, the distance you cover is informally measured in ‘clean kilometres.’ Albeit a new phrase, ‘clean kilometres’ has become an important pointer in climate debates the world over. This is because it has direct linkages with the transportation sector which accounts for nearly 24% of global CO2 emissions and poses a grave threat to our ‘clean and green planet’ aspirations. That’s not all. According to numerous studies, slow-moving road traffic is responsible for 18–23% of India's growing PM2.5 levels.
The urgent need for cleaner transportation underscores the value of electric vehicles. Mahindra Group is at the forefront of the EV revolution in India. Am proud to report that Mahindra Electric Mobility has completed 91.40 crore ‘clean kilometres’ and saved over 96,300 metric tonnes of carbon emissions till July this year. This, otherwise, would have required more than 44.23 lakh trees to be planted. Apart from last-mile mobility solutions, M&M will unveil its ‘Born Electric’ range of e-SUVs this month.
The EV Advantage
It is evidently clear that a gradual transition to EVs could significantly reduce prospective environmental degradation. A medium-sized battery electric vehicle in India logs 19-34% lower life-cycle emissions than automobiles with internal combustion engines. This differential could widen to 30-56% by 2030, once there is more renewable power in our power mix. Global EV penetration within the passenger vehicles segment is about 7%; in India, it is just over 2%. EV adoption and electrification are happening at different levels across various automobile segments. For instance, India saw a rise in 3-wheeler EV penetration from 2-3% in F21 to 9% in F22, with a rampway to touch 35% by 2030. Four-wheeler EVs could be just around 15% by then, and it may take even longer to electrify buses and other heavy commercial vehicles. Nonetheless, it is a strong start.
Policymakers and global OEMs are working towards streamlining the ecosystem to make ‘EV economics’ favourable for adoption by customers. That apart, several climate-conscious businesses are now using EVs to reduce their environmental footprint. Our own Mahindra Logistics booked 70 lakh ‘clean kilometres’ last fiscal, saving over a thousand tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Need For Green Power
In its lifespan, an average petrol car emits 35 tonnes of greenhouse gases. The lifecycle emissions for an average electric car are anticipated to be 30% lower, or around 25 tonnes, compared to a conventional vehicle. But then, this electric car draws charge from the national power grid, which predominantly runs on coal-fired power plants.
If the national power grid were to be powered by 100% renewable electricity, emissions per vehicle would drop down to around seven tonnes – that's 80% lower than a regular petrol car of the current times. To derive maximum benefits from the EV transition, it is critical for countries to reduce the use of fossil fuels in their power mix.
At Mahindra, we have built a portfolio of solar businesses to scale up our renewable energy production. Mahindra Susten and Mahindra Solarize offer distributed energy production while Mahindra Teqo deals with solar asset management and upkeep.
Ecosystem Push
Technological advancements in battery production could be the key to wider adoption of EVs around the world. New generation batteries have a longer ‘driving range’ and ‘reduced charging time.’ Also, a lot of research is being done globally to bring down the cost of EV batteries.
I believe battery prices will moderate over the next few years on account of big-ticket investments by automobile manufacturers, lithium miners, refiners and battery cell manufacturers. Battery manufacturers are trying to diversify their raw material sourcing to tilt the balance from scarcity to a surplus position. Recycling batteries might ultimately reduce pollution from lithium extraction as well. The evolution of charging infrastructure would be equally important to allay range anxiety among EV buyers.
Sustainable transportation is a crucial part of the climate solution. We must reduce the ill effects of pollution and improve air quality. The time is ripe for us to rise – rise for a cleaner planet.
Anish Shah is Managing Director & CEO of Mahindra Group.
The views expressed here are those of the author’s and do not necessarily represent the views of BQ Prime or its editorial team.