Executive Summary:

1. China continues to be dominant in the electric vehicles market, accounting for half of the total EVs sold globally
last year. Nearly 580K electric cars were sold in China in 2017, a 72% increase from the previous year. The US
sold the second-highest number of EVs — about 280K — in 2017, up from 160,000 in 2016
2. Through FAME-I and FAME-II, the government has encouraged the adoption of EVs. While FAME-I focused on
creating a place for electric vehicles in the Indian automobile space, FAME-II laid emphasis on giving an impetus
to electric vehicles in public transport, faster adoption of EVs, enabling charging infrastructure and a push for
R&D in technologies.
3. The market for electric vehicles is still nascent in India. However, technology and battery advancements are
making EVs more attractive to consumers due to increasing convenience and affordability.
4. The penetration of electric three-wheelers in Delhi is significant. This has been triggered not in response to any
government intervention, but by their cost competitiveness and convenience to the drivers
5. The government has targeted a 30 percent adoption of electric vehicles by 2030 which is expected to be
majorly driven by the electrification of two-wheeler, three-wheeler and commercial vehicles in India.
6. EV market penetration is only 1 per cent of the total vehicle sales in India, and of that, 95 per cent of sales are
electric two-wheelers. Even by 2030, electric vehicles are expected to form only 7% of the new car sales in
India.
7. Lack of charging infrastructure, a reluctance by banks to finance purchases and lack of affordable models is
expected to be a hurdle in the growth of electric vehicles in India.
8. Multiple states have implemented policies for faster adoption of EVs; while Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala have their final policies ready, states like Uttarakhand,
Telangana, New Delhi and Bihar have their policies in the draft stage.
9. Electric vehicle sales also suffer from a chicken-and-egg problem. Stakeholders esp. the government continue to
debate whether to create an adequate charging infrastructure to promote sales or to wait till there are enough
EVs on the roads to build that out
10. The Ministry of Heavy Industries has shortlisted 11 cities in the country for introduction of electric vehicles (EVs)
in their public transport systems

What does it take to win as an electric vehicle player:

1. Cost-effective alternatives to lithium batteries like foam batteries, sand batteries, nickel zinc batteries, dual
carbon batteries and sodium ion batteries for improved life and faster charging
2. Partner with competing OEMs for platform development and manufacturing
3. Sync with partners in the ecosystem (such as companies responsible for battery-cell adoption) to reduce waiting
periods and to make electric vehicles more affordable
4. Options provided by most electric vehicle players still skew predominantly towards higher-priced premium
vehicles. Accelerating availability of small, affordable vehicles is especially important in early-stage price-
sensitive EV markets, such as Brazil and India
5. Closing the cost-gap in the production of ICE (internal combustion engine) and electric vehicles
6. Intelligently leverage government subsidies and tax exemption to to bridge gaps between cost and customer
willingness to pay to boost adoption
7.
8. Automotive-OEM-profitability compression because of EVs and other advanced technology is now a top concern
for management:

Sources: Bloomberg New Energy Finance Report