| | NOVEMBER 202319Some Problem Statements Covered by EVsAccording to the Centre for Study of Science, Technology, and Policy (CSTEP), around 70 percent of commodities are transported by road in India, primarily by huge fossil fuel-dependent vehicles. In addition, the country's carbon emissions are accounted for by the road freight industry, which currently represents 54 percent of those emissions.EVs show promise as a solution in this situation. EVs have the potential to completely transform the logistics sector by reducing direct greenhouse gas emissions. However, India faces its fair share of obstacles in the industry's adoption of EVs.Overcoming the Barriers of Charging Infrastructure with EV-Friendly RoadsDue to India's inadequate charging infrastructure, EVs in the logistics sector can be used on routes that can be reached after just one battery charge or at sites with recharge stations. However, this obstacle will soon be resolved as the Ministry of Road Transport and motorways is preparing to build EV-friendly motorways with regular charging stations.The new policy's incentives are expected to ensure the transition of last-mile EV delivery services glide smoothly. This gives the confidence to companies like Zypp Electric to enable logistics companies to switch to EVs. Today, if we dig deeper into the EV industry, we will find a number of quick ecommerce, food delivery, grocery delivery, and logistic companies partnering with EV rental companies. Their goal is to use the EV and charging infrastructure that is already in place and that is constantly changing to execute carbon-free last-mile delivery.As Prahalada Rao, President and Client Partner - Tata Motors, Tata Technologies puts it in a recent interaction with CEO Insights India Magazine, "Load distance combination is a big one for logistics. India's load distance distribution across and within cities is the same. If logistics companies orient their thinking towards load distance distribution, they will also get into volume, since last-mile is many times about volume and not weight". Reducing High Upfront Costs with Government Programs and IncentivesCompared to vehicles powered by fossil fuels, electric vehicles have a much higher initial cost of ownership. However, customers might receive a direct reduction on the price of an EV under India's FAME-II program for boosting electric mobility. Therefore, lower up-front expenses provided by government incentives and laws for commercial cars can aid in incentivizing logistics companies to switch to EVs for their fleet.EV Batteries are Charged using Renewable Energy Sources Rather than Fossil FuelsAlthough utilizing an EV might not contribute to air pollution, the electricity that powers them is produced using fossil fuels. Therefore, any logistics company that is serious about going green should think about using renewable energy to charge its EV fleet. According to PIB, non-fossil fuels account for 40 percent of India's installed energy capacity; therefore this could become a reality soon.Developing Substitute Batteries to Address Logistics-Related EV Battery Difficulties.EVs' key component, their batteries, is both expensive and huge, which limits the amount of storage available in delivery vehicles. Delivery times are lengthened by the fact that EVs start up more slowly than their conventional equivalents. Creating solutions to address these issues might help logistics-dependent businesses migrate to electric vehicles.The development of smaller, more inexpensive, high-performance EV batteries utilizing domestic raw materials, along with the production of cleaner electricity and the supporting infrastructure, will be crucial to the growth and sustainability of EVs in logistics in India.Beyond only making deliveries, these EV rental firms also want to address a number of problems, including the need for capital investments in EVs and charging infrastructure, driver training, effective fleet utilization, and rider profits. Most notably, there are substantial operational costs associated with delivery on an ICE vehicle, which results in decreased rider earnings. Shared mobility will most notably assist businesses in reducing the high operational costs of delivery on an ICE vehicle and improving the incentives they provide to their delivery partners.The future could become not only electric but also green as we move to transition dramatically from fossil fuels to all-electric transportation. We will be able to capture much of the untapped potential and bring a completely new vision of mobility into view.
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