My last China visit for EV supply chain evaluation, I visited several manufactures of Battery, Motor, Electric accessories and Swap stations. Those days, I happen to meet Co-founder and CEO of an esteemed battery manufacturing corporation who happens to be ex-CEO of powertrain division of TESLA. While discussion on various stages of battery development, testing, manufacturing and quality control aspects he gave a few insights on China EV mobility business environment.
Mr. Peng felt, what Chinese did and what Indians are doing for EVs are two completely different approaches. Chinese went unilateral while India is going democratic involving views from automotive OEMs. However, in China its interest group driven proliferation in spite of govt being strong but India looks to be equal opportunity Market.
Chinese’s market was driven by enormous subsidies, government had tacit mandate for manufacturers to have ownership of at least one technology either battery or motor or a controller so that core technology development is central strategy. However, miscreants too came to surface, various interest groups used buses as shell to do fraudster activities. China’s electric vehicle industry, a flagship for Beijing’s technology ambitions was rocked in 2016 by scandal after five companies were caught collecting millions of dollars in subsidies for buses they never made. it prompted questions on Communist party’s financial support to an industry it is spending heavily to promote. While 5 were fined and 20 were anticipated to be in trouble.
India is witnessing a technology shift towards electrically powered vehicles primarily driven by govt. initiatives and announcements. OEMs are also catching up this transition by building infra, technology, tie-ups etc. Several start-ups have also mushroomed in this space i.e. allied business areas / new business models such as charging stations, secondary battery usage etc. However, the consumers are in the wait & watch mode for the industry to get maturity for large scale adoption.
There is a need for start-ups to work out their roadmap based on ground reality thus not overcommit, and at the same time not to miss the bus. Global EV leaders are relatively silent in Indian market in-spite of their noticeable presence in India with conventional vehicles, they have no association in the local market with EVs. How many people in India would know that Renault-Nissan has been biggest seller of EVs in the world but Tesla has been enjoying higher mind share of Indian diaspora as far as EV is concerned.
The Interested players are getting themselves associated with something or the other related to EV infrastructure, parts or products unlike global brands. May be global OEMs still wants to understand where the Indian EV industry is heading, what are growth factors, competitive landscape etc., and then may be use it in future to position itself uniquely by leveraging its legacy. Should they at least focus on increasing the mindshare of Indian consumers without actual product in market?? A buzz to demonstrate incremental commitment till market matures?
The comprehension of big picture is a must to put best foot forward, it necessitates mapping complete value chain and Identify actionable opportunities & business models to identify and develop specific EV positioning to be ready when the right time come. TCO, differential positioning, potential user clusters and their unique characteristics e.g. usage patterns, range, preference, profile etc. are key.
Having done all of above they must investigate how really EV vehicle aggregates looks to be localizable in India. What is reality Vs the claims, what is real capability? What would be the timeline practically? “Localisation business case Vis a Vis China import. Also, there are many more questions on sustainability of pricing esp. cars in mid-term, battery recycling, solution approach vis a vis “just sell the product” approach, backward Integration, mass Vs premium EV and a lot on supply chain, allied Services, govt and apex bodies, oil companies, research Institutions, manufacturers, aggregators and other stakeholders.
Insights on capabilities, probability of success, challenges, level of commitment to India, feasibility of projected plans by the ecosystem players would be a wealth of data. However, deriving information out of this pile of data will put brightest brains to work.
Disclaimer – This article is written in full personal capacity and free of charge. This has no conflict of interest with the organisation I work or the current role I perform in the organisation or the information I have access in the organisation. This write-up expresses personal views purely based on information easily and widely available in public domain. Rights to reproduce is protected with self.
Pravesh Soni
Guest Writer, Thought Leader and Non-Profit ‘Student Start-Up’ Mentor.
Reference
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