Rs 100 - AutoCar Pro

Ampere Electric .................5ARAI ...................................40Ashok Leyland ..... 6, 25, 47Ather Energy ......................5Central Pollution Control Board..................................40Centre for Auto Policy & Research .....................40, 54Centre for Science and Environment .....................23Daimler India Commercial Vehicles ...................... 42, 50Deloitte...............................35Eicher Motors ..................... 3Faradion .............................34Greaves Cotton .................22Guidance TN ......................42Hero Electric ................. 5, 21Hitachi ABB Power Grids 24Hyundai Motor India 4,7, 42India Yamaha Motor .........42Infraprime Logistics Technologies ......................34IOCL R&D Centre ..............40Jitendra New EV Tech......22JRC European Commission .......................40Kia Motors India .............4, 8Mahindra & Mahindra 15, 49Mahindra Electric ..............21Maruti Suzuki India ........................ 4, 12, 40Ministry of Road Transport & Highways .................. 5, 23Nexzu Mobility India ........22Okinawa Scooters ........ 5, 22Royal Enfield .....................42SAE India ...........................40SIAM ...............................7, 42SMEV...................................21Sodion Energy ...................32Srivaru Motors ..................28Tata Motors .......................14TVS Motor Co ....................42US Geological Survey ......37VE Commercial Vehicles ......................... 3, 46Volta Trucks.........................6Volvo Bus India ................... 3Volvo Group India ............... 3

BRAND FINDER

professional15 August 2020 www.autocarpro.in

Essential reading for the Automotive industryVol. 16 No. 17

Rs 100

Comprehensive policy targets 500,000 electric vehicles, 25 percent electrification of new fleet on Delhi roads by 2024 and addresses the entire EV eco-system, offers buyer incentives as well as a first-in-India scrappage scheme. Will it have a national impact? Page 16

ENVIRONMENT

SPOTLIGHT

VECV acquires

Volvo India’s bus

business Page 3

Hitachi ABB Power Grids targets CV bizFull ‘grid-to-plug’ solution enables operators to charge more with less Page 24

Srivaru Motors to launch its first e-bike Coimbatore-based start-up scripts major plan for electric mobility Page 28

CV OEMS AND TELEMATICSEnhancing efficiency, productivity, safety Page 46

NEW KIA SONETLooks set to carry on the winning streak Page 8

MAHINDRA TRACTORSM&M on track to reap a good harvest in FY2021 Page 15

INDIA SALES: JULYUptick in PVs, 2-wheelers but CVs flounder Page 7

IN FOCUS

EXCLUSIVE: CAN SODIUM-ION BATTERIES BE AN ALTERNATIVE TO LITHIUM-ION TECH? PAGE 32

INFRASTRUCTURE

E-TWO-WHEELERSE-MOBILITY SPECIAL

Delhi takes the lead with landmark EV policy

UN raises red flag about EV batteries’ green quotient

Total pages: 56

Though electric vehicles have no tailpipe emissions, extraction of lithium and other battery raw materials pose socio-economic and environmental implications that need to be addressed Page 36

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NEWS

www.autocarpro.in 15 August 2020 Autocar Professional 3

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EDITORIAL Managing Editor Ajit DalviExecutive Editor Sumantra B BarooahSpecial Correspondents Mayank Dhingra (New Delhi), Shahkar Abidi (Mumbai) Correspondents Nilesh Wadhwa (Mumbai), Sricharan R (Chennai)Copy Editor Sumana SarkarAssistant Art Editor Pralhad KusumaPhotographers Paul Dewars, Ardeshir Ashley Baxter, Kuldeep Chaudhari, Omkar Dhas Manager — Administration & Office Affairs G K Singh (Gurugram) AD SALESB2B Business Head Sudhanva JategaonkarNational Head Atul Patil Senior Manager Ashish Sahay (North)Advertising Coordinator Sonal JainManager — Marketing Avinash BhakreProduction Manager Prasad GangurdeGeneral Manager — CirculationGilbert D'SouzaHead — Circulation (South — Chennai) P Vijayakumar (Cell: 94442 88134)Regional Manager — Circulation (North)Vimal Sharma Manager — Subscription Ganesh JadhavCustomer Care [email protected]

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This magazine contains 56 pages including both covers.

VE COMMERCIAL Vehicles (VECV), a subsidiary of Eicher Motors, has entered into a business transfer agreement with Volvo Group India to acquire Volvo Bus India (VBI), the bus business of Volvo Group (VGIPL) for Rs 100.5 crore. The agreement entails manufacture, assembly, distribution and sale of Volvo buses in India, and other rights forming part of the business by VECV.

After the completion of the transaction, VECV and VBI will consolidate their bus businesses into a newly formed bus division within VECV. This division will offer Volvo- and Eicher-branded buses and will maximise synergies to capitalise on market opportunities. This strategy will be extended to exports, wherein the new bus division will offer products and services that are complementary with Volvo Buses’ core product portfolio in select international markets.

Speaking on the announcement, Siddhartha Lal, chairman, VECV said, “This is testimony to a very strong relationship between Eicher Motors and Volvo Group. The Volvo brand for buses in India has become synonymous with safety and comfort in both inter-city and intra-city public transportation, and we are extremely proud to have this iconic brand in our joint venture. With the integration of Volvo Buses India into VECV, we aim to shape the future of the Indian bus industry by offering the widest range of

transport solutions to our customers.”

Hakan Agnevall, president, Volvo Bus Corporation said, “We are pleased with this development of Volvo Buses in India and see it as an opportunity to further build upon the successful JV company — VECV. By consolidating the operations of Volvo Buses India into VECV, we aim to further develop our bus business and strengthen our position in the Indian bus market. The new bus division will offer a full range of modern buses covering

customer needs for heavy, medium and light duty buses.”

Vinod Aggarwal, MD and CEO, VECV added, “VECV’s strong presence in the Indian bus market with Eicher-branded buses will be complemented by Volvo Buses’ prominent position in the premium bus segment. With this integration, VECV will be able to leverage synergies in the areas of product development, purchasing and manufacturing with access to Volvo Group’s world-class technology in buses.”

EXCLUSIVE

VECV to acquire Volvo India’s bus business

Akash Passey to head new VECV Bus Division Akash Passey, senior VP, Volvo Bus Corporation, will join as the president of the newly formed VECV Bus Division. He will repatriate to India for this role and report to Vinod Aggarwal, MD and CEO, VECV. Passey said, “Going forward, customers and partners can expect the same high level of customer care and world-class products from both Volvo and Eicher brands. The new division will also engage further in the dynamic Indian market driven by megatrends such as urbanisation, e-mobility and connectivity.”

According to Passey, while Volvo has electric buses globally, the Indian EV industry is still at a nascent stage for VECV to look at it. But it will not shy away from bringing new products as and when it sees the electric bus market maturing.

Newly formed VECV Bus Division will offer Volvo and Eicher branded buses and will maximise synergies to capitalise on growth.

Vinod Aggarwal: “VECV will be able to leverage synergies with the Volvo Group in product development, purchasing and manufacturing.”

Akash Passey: “The new division will engage in megatrends such as urbanisation, e-mobility and connectivity.”

l The new bus division will offer a full range of modern buses covering customer needs for heavy, medium and light duty buses

l Offer products and services complementary with Volvo’s core portfolio.

l Transaction expected to be closed within the next two months. Includes bus manufacturing facility at Hosakote, Bangalore and all employees.

FAST FACTS

NEWS.indd 3 8/17/2020 11:16:07 AM

4 Autocar Professional 15 August 2020 www.autocarpro.in

Hyundai Creta: Zero to 500,000 in five years

HYUNDAI MOTOR INDIA has achieved another sales milestone for its popular SUV, Creta. It has now sold the Creta to over 500,000 customers since it was launched in 2015. The company is offering the Creta in 1.5-litre petrol, 1.5-litre diesel and a 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine options.

Commenting on the sales landmark, Tarun Garg, director — Sales, Marketing & Service, Hyundai Motor India said, “The Hyundai Creta has been the blockbuster model in the Indian automobile industry ever since its launch in 2015. Redefining the SUV landscape in India, the Creta’s supremacy transpires from Hyundai’s technological prowess and innovation, outperforming the industry benchmarks in all aspects. With the 500,000 sales mark, the Creta has set yet another benchmark in the industry, reaffirming a legacy of leadership in the SUV segment. At Hyundai Motor India, we are continuously strengthening our portfolio with the best-in-segment features and technologically advanced products to make our customers’ life a happy life.”

“HMIL has also contributed

strongly in the UV segment with four super performer SUVs — all-new Creta, Venue, Tucson and Kona electric — registering sale of 34,212 units (April-July 2020) showcasing customer acceptance of SUVs in the Hyundai portfolio, and leading to higher brand affinity.”

Hyundai’s sales in the April-July 2020 period take it ahead of the UV market leader, Maruti Suzuki India which sold a total of 32,577 units. At present, the Korean carmaker leads the UV segment with a market share of 24.54 percent to Maruti Suzuki’s 23.37 percent. Club Hyundai’s UV market share with that of sister OEM Kia Motors India (12.51%) and they have a combined share of 37.05 percent.

The new Creta has been the best-selling SUV for three consecutive months of May, June and July this year, and has received over 65,000 bookings since being launched in March 2020. Interestingly, the demand for the Creta Diesel variant is now at 60 percent. The company exports the made-in-India Creta to 88 countries worldwide.

l Kia Motors India reveals the Sonet compact SUV, p8

In the April-July 2020 period, Hyundai Motor India with sales of 34,212 UVs including 21,968 Cretas has driven ahead of Maruti Suzuki (32,577 units).

4 Autocar Professional 15 June 2020 www.autocarpro.in

Tata AutoComp partners Tellus for EV stations

TATA GROUP COMPANIES are plugging into e-mobility in a big way. A few days after Tata Power announced plans to have a network of over 700 EV charging stations by FY2021, Tata AutoComp Systems signed an MoU with US-based DC charging infrastructure company, Tellus Power Green to supply AC and DC fast chargers. These chargers can be used for all electric vehicles — two- and three-wheelers, passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles — in India.

Tellus Power is an EV infrastructure manufacturing company with a range of products and services. The company says it has developed deep expertise in the EV infrastructure market, backed by industry proven best practices in electronics manufacturing. Apart from US, Tellus has global sales, manufacturing, and service centres in India, China, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Middle East and says it has delivered several thousand AC and DC fast charging stations worldwide.

Tellus says over 200 DC fast chargers manufactured by the company and ranging from 60kw to 300kw have been deployed across India for charging electric buses.

Commenting on the partnership, Arvind Goel, MD, Tata Autocomp Systems said: “As part of the Tata Group initiative, Tata AutoComp has been planning a significant play in providing systems and components for EVs, as well as provide enabling systems for establishing charging infrastructure. Tata AutoComp has already established JVs for providing electric driveline as well as battery packs for passenger cars, commercial vehicles as well as fast developing two- and three-wheelers in India. Tata AutoComp and Tellus will now provide various sizes of AC chargers from 3 kW to 11kW for home and residential complexes as well as DC fast chargers from 20kW to 300kW to meet the needs to charge various types of vehicles in public places such as office and commercial parking lots, convenience public charging stations within cities as well as highways, dedicated depots for commercial vehicles to name a few.”

Randhir Reddy, Global CEO, Tellus Power Green said: "This partnership with a company like Tata AutoComp Systems will further strengthen Tellus’ existing presence in India."

Tata Autocomp and Tellus will supply AC and DC fast chargers for the entire range of electric vehicles — two- and three-wheelers, PVs and CVs — in India.

4 Autocar Professional 15 February 2020 www.autocarpro.in

Suzuki plans li-ion battery recycling plant in India

By Shahkar AbidiFour months after it signed an MoU with the Gujarat government to set up a Rs 4,930 crore lithium ion battery plant in Bacharaji, near Ahmedabad, the Suzuki Motor Corp- (SMC) backed Automotive Electronics Power Pvt Ltd (AEPPL) now also plans to set up a lithium-ion battery recycling facility. AEPPL, which is based in Hansalpur, Ahmedabad, is a JV in which SMC holds 50 percent stake while Toshiba and Denso hold 40 percent and 10 percent respectively. The company will manufacture 30 million cells per year in 2025 with production capacity of more than 1GWh. By end-2020, the first phase of development will see investment of Rs 1,250 crore. Phase 2 will see an investment of Rs 3,715 crore. The foundation stone for the plant was laid on 14 September 2017, jointly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Reuse, Rebuild, RecycleAccording to Hisashi Takeuchi, managing officer and deputy executive GM (global automobile marketing) at SMC, the Japanese automaker has adopted a 3R (Reuse, Rebuild and Recycle) approach to ensure safety and scrapping of lithium-ion batteries. An appropriate 3R

system needs to be established in India, which factors in experiences from developed markets. For that government legislation is required. "We are planning to establish a lithium-ion battery recycling centre in future," said Takeuchi. Takeuchi was speaking at the Global Electrification Mobility Summit on the sidelines of Auto Expo 2020 Motor Show.

Takeuchi claims that SMC is working to expand production capacity and localise lithium-ion battery parts in India. In addition, parts such as motor and inverter are also likely to be localised. As per a presentation made by Takeuchi, SMC has suggested some key pointers for future localisation, as under:l An incentive scheme to promote localisation of EV components.l Domestic EV component manufacturing industry should be protected from imports till the whole ecosystem is developed. l Provide support on import of machinery to manufacture EV components.l Rationalisation of tax structure on strong hybrid vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles. l New safety standard for EV lithium-ion batteries.l Discourage manufacture /import of low quality (unsafe) lithium-ion batteries in India.

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EDITORIAL

AMONG THE KEY headline-grabbing news in the past fortnight has been the ‘Atmanirbharta Saptah (self-reliance week)’ announced by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. In its backdrop was the import embargo imposed on 101 items to boost localisation of defence production. In May this year, Prime

Minister Narendra Modi had launched the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (self-reliant initiative)’ along with a call for people to be ‘vocal for local’. On India’s 74th Independence Day, it’s worth taking a pause and see how much of the calls are achievable.

For instance, an automobile can be fully made in India. However, it’s nearly impossible to have all the components in it to be made in the country. Not possible, even if a sizeable section of the population calls to boycott stuff made in another country, which is a global sourcing hub. Enhancing capabilities within the country will ensure India Auto Inc becomes more atmanirbhar. The two key areas to target are technologies and components for emission control to meet BS VI and future norms, and for indigenisation of electric vehicles (EVs).

Atmanirbharta has to be looked at also from the perspective of empowerment of the lower stratas of society. Jagdish Khattar, former bureaucrat and ex-MD of Maruti Suzuki, is now promoting the usage of bicycles. He makes a couple of interesting arguments in the guest column on page 52. The income level of 200 million people in India could go up by 30-50 percent within a month, if they get a bicycle with which they can travel to tap better-paying jobs. With mobility being almost a lifelong need, more users of bicycles in the lower economic strata may also yield benefits for the automobile industry, especially the entry-level vehicle segments.

There’s considerable action happening in India's EV industry. August 7 saw both Delhi and Telangana announce their very own EV policies, albeit Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal seems to have gone one step ahead of all electric mobility promoting states by also announcing a first-of-its-kind scrappage policy. Our comprehensive cover story opens on page 16. What’s more, we’ve got a clutch of exclusive features on this eco-friendly mode of transport while also flagging concern about rampant extraction of scarce lithium and other rare minerals. Can Coimbatore-based Sodion Energy’s sodium-lithium battery tech help? Find out on page 32.

This Independence Day, it may also be worth taking a pledge to step up efforts for the domestic automotive industry to enhance its capabilities, and contribute towards a more favourable trade scenario for the country.

Sumantra B Barooah, Executive Editor [email protected]

THE LOW-HANGING fruits of the electric vehicle (EV) industry — two- and three-wheelers — have got a new charge. On August 12, the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) has permitted sale and registration of electric two- and three-wheelers without a factory fitted battery.

Furthermore, there will be no need to specify the make/type or any other details of the battery for the purpose of vehicle registration. An EV battery typically accounts for 30-40 percent of the total EV cost; one of the impediments to mass vehicle electrification has been the high initial vehicle cost. The move, which is aimed at lowering the upfront cost of these EVs, will also give a fillip to the battery swapping industry.

Industry lauds policy decision by the Road Transport MinistryCommenting on MoRTH’s decision, Naveen Munjal, MD, Hero Electric, said, “The policy is a welcome move. I am excited about the possibilities that exist in making EVs accessible to every individual in the country. All we need is a combination of such pioneering policies for it to work for us as per plan in the long-run and work in the long-term. For this to take off and be able to efficiently pass on the benefit to the consumer, we ought to work towards a strong infrastructure that allows EV owners to charge and swapping batteries wherever they require. I look forward to more such positive interventions.”

Tarun Mehta, CEO and co-founder, Ather Energy,

India en route to atmanirbhartaNod for electric 2- and

3W sale sans battery

added: “MoRTH's new policy is a great move for both customers and OEMs. It lowers the upfront cost that the consumer has to pay and allows OEMs to build superior products at an affordable price point. Ather has been proactively experimenting with different sales and ownership models and the new policy opens up new opportunities in financing options. Based on our learning, it will likely take some time for consumers to understand and adopt this model of ownership, but in the long run it will be a big boost to the Indian EV industry. It will also make it easier for new players to join the industry. With BS VI increasing petrol scooter prices, we expect consumers to shift to electric scooters, which offer great performance, in the months to come.”

Electric two- and three-wheeler OEM Ampere Electric stated: "The government's move to allow

the sale and registration of EVs without batteries is encouraging. This will reduce the cost of acquisition of EV especially for two- and three-wheelers and allow more and more people to shift from traditional to a more sustainable and affordable green mobility solutions for last-mile connectivity. With increased pollution levels due to rapid rise in vehicles on the road, clean and environment-friendly mobility solutions like EVs are the need of the hour and this conducive policy will further strengthen the EV ecosystem."

Jeetender Sharma, MD and founder, Okinawa Scooters, said: “It is a motivation to see the government working towards accelerating adoption of electric mobility. We look forward to more such industry boosting policies.” It is expected that this move will give a fillip to the battery swapping industry.

Sun Mobility's quick battery interchange station. It allows consumers to swap their used battery to one of the slots of the charging station and pay for the actual usage, and swap with a fresh charged battery, all in under just two minutes.

NEWS.indd 5 8/17/2020 2:01:01 PM


By Sumantra B BarooahTechnocrat and an auto industry veteran, Dr Seshu Bhagavathula is set to start a new phase in his life. The 60-year-old engineer retired from commercial vehicle major Ashok Leyland as its president — new technologies and business initiatives, on July 24 after the end of his extended contract period. He may continue to play a support role in some cases.

Dr Seshu, as he is widely known, had joined Ashok Leyland as its CTO in April 2016, a role which he held for three years. He also led the technology functions across Ashok Leyland group companies. He had four key responsibilities to deliver during his stint. The recently launched highly modular truck platform called AVTR, is one among them. The others were the transition to BS VI, EVs and a mid- to long-term product planning roadmap.

The modular AVTR platform, which claims to be able to offer up to 600,000 different vehicle configurations, could play a lead role in Ashok Leyland’s strategy to be among the top 10 M&HCV OEMs globally. The ‘Modular Business Program’ project, started in 2016, marked a departure from the earlier product development approach at Ashok Leyland. Dr Seshu was also a member of Daimler AG’s modular program, and that experience came more than handy here. In an interview with Autocar Professional last year, Dr Seshu said. "With modularisation, our addressable market has gone up. Things that we have not been able to offer

before, we can offer from now on."

In the electric vehicle (EV) space, Ashok Leyland was the first in the commercial vehicle segment to make a major move. Its bus model called Circuit-S, launched in October 2016, was the first ‘made-in-India’ electric bus.

The 72-year-old company also launched, what it claims as, India’s first integrated facility for design, prototyping, testing, process prototyping and solutions design, in its Ennore plant

two years ago. Though the business and the overall EV market have not progressed satisfactorily, these steps would help once the critical scale starts building up.

The OEM bets on a partnership strategy to build a sustainable EV business. According to Dr Seshu, "In the modem e-mobility value chain, you cannot do everything on your own. You require intelligent partnerships to master the overall value chain. You can't go and start buying

companies. So, intelligent partnerships are all about new business initiatives."

A German citizenship holder, Dr Seshu will now head back to his German home, near Stuttgart. The India part of his career is “more or less” over.

Dr Seshu’s career began with Daimler AG, as a manager in its radar division. His India stint started in June 1996, as the founding managing director of Mercedes-Benz Research & Development India, a key development hub for Daimler globally. Prior to joining Ashok Leyland, he had a stint as CTO, Apollo Tyres, working out of the company’s Netherlands base.

Dr Seshu, an electronics engineering graduate and doctorate degree holder in high frequency technology, has earned his name as an industry professional. He also holds several patents, including three in transportation telematics, and about 35 technical publications. However, not many may know that he is also a marathoner who has

run close to 20 marathons and 40 half marathons. Now that he will have more time in hand, the sexagenarian may be found more often in marathon circuits in the coming months and years.

Dr Seshu checks into Volta TrucksOn August 13, Dr Seshu joined Scandinavian electric CV start- up, Volta Trucks. The full-electric CV maker and services company confirmed the appointment of Dr Bhagavathula to its Board. The company says Dr Bhagavathula brings “a wealth of global automotive, commercial vehicle industry, and vehicle electrification experience to the start-up."

Dr Bhagavathula will also act as an advisor to the Volta Trucks management team, and his appointment is effective immediately. Volta Trucks is developing the Volta Zero, the world’s first purpose-built full-electric 16-tonne vehicle designed for inner-city freight deliveries. Full news on www.autocarpro.in

NEWS

Dr Bhagavathula has joined Scandinavian full-electric commercial vehicle manufacturer and services start-up, Volta Trucks.

Dr Seshu Bhagavathula bids goodbye to Ashok Leyland, and India

On June 20, Ashok Leyland unveiled the AVTR modular truck platform. with multiple options of axle configurations, loading spans, cabins, suspensions, and drivetrains for the entire range of rigid trucks, tippers and tractors in the 18.5T to 55T category.

NEWS.indd 6 8/17/2020 11:31:41 AM

NEWS


By Mayank DhingraIf there is a glimmer of hope for the domestic automobile industry, then July numbers would have brought some respite to passenger vehicle and two-wheeler OEMs. That’s because the rate of sales decline is slowing month on month. As per apex body SIAM’s July 2020 numbers, though the mood in the automobile market is muted, there are clearly some green shoots of recovery.

The passenger vehicle (PV) segment registered an overall year-on-year (YoY) decline of 3.86 percent in sales at 182,779 units (July 2019: 190,115). While this hints at a good and quick recovery of the segment, it also creates doubts over demand sustenance in the long term. According to Rajan Wadhera, president, SIAM, “After a few consecutive months of plummeting sales in a post-Covid scenario, there are signs of green shoots in PVs and two-wheelers, where the YoY de-growth is much lesser than the previous months. The sales numbers in August would indicate if this is sustainable demand and not just a pent-up demand.”

From a month-on-month perspective, however, July seems to have fared much better compared to June 2020 when PV sales had dipped to 105,617 units(-73%). While the PV segment has been in the red for all of FY2020, it is the utility vehicles (UVs) sub-segment that has been leading the charge for the entire class of vehicles towards recovery. A market trend for the UV body style as well as strong demand for some of the new launches —primarily Hyundai’s Creta — have propelled the category’s growth. In particular, the Creta has raced past the

65,000-unit bookings milestones since launch in March 2020 even in the prevalent subdued market environment. With sales of 71,384 units, UVs registered 13.88 percent growth. Passenger cars, on the other hand, posted a 12 percent decline with overall sales of 102,773 units.

Motorcycles pick up paceThe pandemic has also given a huge thrust to personal mobility over public transportation and thus, two-wheelers tend to have benefited from the crisis, albeit only in terms of reaching the pre-Covid sales levels. Overall two-wheeler sales stood at 1,281,354 units (July 2019: 1,511,692), down 15 percent YoY.

Scooters though continued to remain weak performers registering 36 percent de-growth with sale of 334,288 units. Motorcycle

UVs lead PV revival, CVs still down

While demand has begun returning to the passenger car segment, it is the utility vehicle segment, particularly recently launched compact SUVs, which are leading the revival.

CATEGORY July 2020 July 2019 Change YoY % Passenger vehicles 182,779 190,115 -3.86%Three-wheelers 12,728 55,719 -77.16%Two-wheelers 1,281,354 1,511,717 -15.24%Total 1,476,861 1,757,551 -15.97%

CATEGORY July 2020 July 2019 Change YoY % Two-wheelers 874,638 1,398,702 -37.47% Three-wheelers 15,132 58,940 -74.33% Commercial vehicles 19,293 69,338 -72.18% Passenger vehicles 157,373 210,377 -25.19% Tractors 76,197 55,522 37.24% Total 1,142,633 1,792,879 -36.27%

VEHICLE SALES IN INDIA (SIAM)

VEHICLE SALES IN INDIA (FADA)

sales at 888,520 units, slowed down their rate of decline and narrowed it to five percent compared to year-ago numbers.

Clearly, a good monsoon has brought a fresh wave of demand from the rural clusters, giving a reviving push to the two-wheeler segment in totality.

Compared to June 2020 sales (1,013,431), the performance marks a 26 percent month-on-month improvement where sales in the previous month stood at units.

CVs and three-wheelers down significantlyThe big worry though for India Auto Inc is the commercial vehicles (CVs) that are the barometer of the economy. While SIAM did not reveal the sales performance of the CV segment for the month of July, CVs registered 85 percent de-growth in Q1 FY2021 with overall sales of 31,636 units (Q1 FY2020: 208,310).

Meanwhile, three-wheelers at 12,728 units saw a 77 percent YoY

decline (July 2019: 55,719). While passenger carriers were down 86 percent, goods carriers were down 30 percent last month. All the CV manufacturers have been badly hit in the first quarter of FY2021. From Tata Motors to Ashok Leyland to Eicher Motors to Mahindra & Mahindra,all have announced high-level losses, as a result of Covid-induced lack of market demand. Clearly, the CV sector needs a growth injection. When’s the scrappage policy coming?

NEWS.indd 7 8/17/2020 11:33:22 AM

www.autocarpro.in8 Autocar Professional 15 August 2020 www.autocarpro.in 15 August 2020 Autocar Professional 9

PASSENGER VEHICLES

The dynamic compact SUV segment in India just turned

even more exciting. Kia Motors India, the Korean carmaker and Hyundai Motor sibling which gatecrashed the Indian automobile market with the game-changing Seltos SUV, then rolled out the luxurious Carnival MPV, revealed its third product — the Sonet compact SUV on August 7.

The world premiere of the production-ready model follows the global unveiling of the Sonet concept at the Delhi Auto Expo in February 2020. Sales of the new car will commence soon in India, with sales in many of Kia’s global markets due to follow.

That Kia Motors is betting big on the Sonet is amply clear from the opening statement from Ho Sung Song, president and CEO, Kia Motors Corporation. He said: “With the Sonet, we want to become the brand of choice in India.”

He added, “Everything about the all-new Sonet is uniquely Kia and is sure to delight both drivers and passengers. With its aggressive and modern design language, fun-

to-drive dynamics, and Kia’s latest high-tech features, the Sonet puts an exclamation point on our ambition to make Kia the brand of choice, especially among millennial and Gen Z consumers. The Sonet fills a need in the growing SUV market, in India and further afield, and will attract a wider number of consumers to the Kia brand.”

“We are extremely excited to introduce the Sonet, which is made in India for the world. After the success of the Seltos and Carnival, we are confident that Kia will revolutionise yet another market segment in India with the Sonet by addressing the unmet needs and aspirations of customers,” said Kookhyun Shim, MD and CEO, Kia Motors India.

“The Kia Sonet is designed and developed to deliver a best-in-class experience in quality, design, technology, features and drivability to attract a wide spectrum of customers across

The soon-to-be-launched Sonet looks bold and attractive with its upright stance and modern

design elements.

Kia Sonet: Made-in-India SUV with big export potentialKorean carmaker rolls out its third product for India, aiming to make a dent in the booming compact SUV market. And the 300,000 units per annum Anantapur plant being the sole production base for the new Sonet, exports are also high on the company's sales strategy, says Mayank Dhingra.

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PASSENGER VEHICLES

l The Sonet shares its platform with the Hyundai Venue and is Kia’s third model in India.

l Kia Motor Corporation has chalked out an ambitious sales target of 100,000 domestic and 50,000 export units of Sonet in the first year.

l The crossover is jointly developed between Kia’s global R&D headquarters in South Korea and Kia Motors India’s R&D team.

l Indian architecture and modern lifestyle have heavily influenced the Sonet’s design which is based on a baby elephant.

l Elements such as LED headlamps, upright bonnet, diamond-cut alloy wheels, rising belt line and body cladding make the Sonet look bold.

l 10.25-inch touchscreen, fully digital instrument cluster, Bose audio system, ventilated seats and front parking sensors are segment firsts.

l Multiple powertrain options — 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol, 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol and 1.5-litre turbocharged diesel — on offer.

l 5-transmission options on offer including a 5, 6-speed MT, 6-speed clutch less manual, 7-speed DCT and 6-speed torque converter.

l Top-notch safety equipment list sees six airbags, ABS, EBD, brake assist, hill-hold assist, VSM, ESC and front- and- rear parking sensors.

l The Sonet expected to be launched around September and will compete with the Hyundai Venue, Maruti Brezza and the upcoming Toyota Urban Cruiser.

30 SECONDS ON... KIA SONET

Ho Sung Song, president and CEO, Kia Motors Corp: “We want to become the brand of choice in India. Everything about the all-new Sonet is uniquely Kia and is sure to delight both drivers and passengers."

Kookhyun Shim, MD and CEO, Kia Motors India: "Anantapur is the most advanced plant amongst all Kia facilities around the world. We have invested over US$ 2 million at the plant in Andhra Pradesh."

Tae-Jin Park, ED, Kia Motors India: "Kia has become the fastest brand to achieve 100,000 sales milestone in India. With the Sonet, Kia is in line with its commitment of introducing a new model every six to nine months in India."

Manohar Bhat, head - Sales and Marketing, Kia Motors India: “The Sonet will have a wide variety of trim levels and powertrain options. There will be a 1.2L petrol, 1.5L diesel, and a 1-litre turbocharged petrol engine on offer."

Lorenz Glaab, VP and head of global product management, Hyundai Motor: "We are a fairly new brand in India and that allows us to focus on the most relevant, exciting segments. We won't follow others but find our own way forward."

segments. The Sonet will be produced at our state-of-the-art Anantapur plant to Kia’s exacting global standards, and we are sure it will be received with enthusiasm by new customers and existing fans of the brand alike," added the Kia Motors India boss.

Styling and interiorIn line with Kia’s distinctive design DNA, the Sonet’s emotive and bold design combines the brand’s signature design traits, including the iconic ‘tiger nose’ grille, with a three-dimensional ‘stepwell’ geometric grille mesh, making a strong visual impression inspired by Indian architecture. The front boasts a distinctive pair of LED headlamps with Kia’s signature heart beat DRL theme, giving the Sonet a powerful and appealing face. The upright bonnet and the rising window line on the side also add to the character of the crossover. The side body cladding around the car and 215-section tyres on 16-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels complement the aggressive stance with a rugged appeal. At the rear, Kia designers have played heavily with lights, plastic and glass and concealed the

C-pillar in a glossy black plastic cladding to give a wraparound treatment to the rear windshield. The LED tail lamps also get the signature heart beat treatment and there’s a thin strip of LED reflector joining the lamps on the either side.

According to Karim Habib, Head of Kia Global Design, “The exterior design of the Sonet was inspired by the baby elephant and it truly emulates the strength and the attractiveness of the animal. The detailing on the tiger nose grille was inspired by the stepwell — a traditional Indian architectural methodology.”

On the inside, the Sonet offers a sophisticated and lively cabin experience with an amalgamation of various textures and shapes. The sweeping dashboard and a stylish yet minimalist centre console call for a pleasing visual experience inside the cabin that also feels hugely modern. The layered vertical AC vents, flat-bottom steering wheel, fully-digital instrument cluster, aluminium-finished pedals, sunroof and an all-black theme would together help make the Sonet instantly appeal to the youngsters.

Kia has also offered a few segment-first features including a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system that offers 57 of its connected features under the UVO connected car platform. It also comes paired with a 7-speaker sound system from Bose. Moreover, the company has introduced ventilated

front seats, a cooled wireless mobile phone charger, driving modes for the automatic variants as well as front parking sensors which are so far unheard of in the mass-market compact crossover segment.

Multiple powertrainsIn line with the company’s strategy that it adopted while entering the Indian market with the Seltos in August last year, the Sonet too will be offered with multiple powertrain options to suit virtually all requirements in compact crossover segment. It will be offered with a choice of two petrol engines — a 1.2-litre four-cylinder and a relatively powerful 1.0-litre three-cylinder T-GDI (turbocharged gasoline direct injection) — along witha 1.5-litre diesel engine, all conforming to the BS VI norms. The engines will be available with a choice of five transmissions that would include five- and six-speed manuals, an intuitive seven-speed DCT, six-speed torque convertor automatic, and Kia’s innovative new six-speed clutch-less manual transmission (iMT) that has also been recently introduced in the Hyundai Venue. The latter offers


AD.indd 5 8/17/2020 5:30:03 PM


PASSENGER VEHICLES

The Sonet gets an air purifier and layered air-conditioning vents with piano black surrounds.

A digital MID and speedometer with an analogue tachometer blend together nicely in the Sonet.

An all-black dashboard and high-quality bits look inviting. Flat-bottom steering wheel is nice and chunky.

Both driver and front-passenger seats are ventilated and have an in-built blower with three speed settings.

The 10.25-inch touchscreen is largest in the segment and also has 57 connected car features on board.

fatigue-free driving thanks to the absence of a clutch pedal, yet the driver is able to control the car like a conventional manual transmission.

Kia is also betting big on the demand for diesel automatics and for the first time in this segment, the Sonet will also offer its 1.5-litre diesel engine with the six-speed automatic transmission option.

In terms of safety features as well, Kia has gone all out and equipped the Sonet with active and passive features such as dual airbags and ABS and EBD as standard. The higher variants will see the list getting bigger with six airbags, ESC, hill-hold assist, vehicle stability management, brake assist and tyre pressure monitoring system making their way into the crossover.

Glo-cal developmentKia says the Sonet has

been developed and engineered from the ground-up jointly between Kia Motors India and Kia’s global R&D headquarters in South Korea. The production Sonet has been built following extensive market inputs from India, especially relating to its design, engine and transmission tuning and characteristics, suspension attributes, and the high-tech features it offers. The compact SUV has also been through extensive road tests in India, where Indian and South Korean engineers in Sonet prototypes covered over 100,000 kilometres across diverse terrain, driving situations, and climatic conditions.

Made in India, for the worldAlong with a strategic plan to make the most of the compact SUV market in India, Kia Motors is also banking on sizeable

exports of the Sonet. With India and Kia Motors India's plant in Andhra Pradesh being the sole production base in the world for the Sonet, there is huge export potential for the snazzy compact SUV.

Speaking at the reveal of the production-ready Sonet, Kookhyun Shim, managing director and CEO, Kia Motors India, said: “Our Anantapur plant is the best among the Kia plants in the world. We are sure the made-in-India Sonet will wow India and the world.”

As per Kia Motor Corporation’s Q2 CY2020 results presentation released on July 23, and the sales plan reviewed by Autocar Professional, the company has chalked out an ambitious sales target of 100,000 units in India and another 50,000 units to be exported. The plan also reveals September 2020 to be

the launch month for the snazzy Sonet. These figures are an upward revision of the Sonet sales target announced in April 2020, which called for 70,000 units in year one.

Thus, as things stand, the Sonet looks well set for battle in the thriving compact SUV space. To be launched next month, it will go head to head with the Hyundai Venue, Maruti Vitara Brezza and upcoming Toyota Urban Cruiser. It’s a smashing to look at, comes with plenty of kit and will offer a wide choice of powertrain options too. We’ll have to see how it drives and how much will Kia ask for it. Given the Kia brand’s success so far, it could get a bit ambitious on pricing but with so many rivals, Kia probably isn’t going to leave any loose ends, so expect a competitive price and a tight battle ahead.n

Sunroofs are becoming de rigueur in SUVs. The one in the Sonet helps in maintaining an airy feel in the cabin.



PASSENGER VEHICLES

On August 5, Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) introduced the

updated S-Cross crossover in a new petrol-only avatar. The crossover, in June 2015, marked the commencement of the carmaker’s parallel premium retail channel — Nexa — which has completed five years and grown into 370 outlets in more than 200 cities, selling over 1.1 million cars in the country. While the success story of Nexa can be solely credited to the Baleno B+ hatchback, the S-Cross, since its launch and available in a diesel-only version, sold an estimated 125,960 units until March 2020.

Interestingly, at launch, Maruti Suzuki had introduced the S-Cross in two diesel engine options — a 1.3-litre 90bhp and a 1.6-litre 120bhp motor — both sourced from Fiat. While the 1.6-litre engine got rave reviews for its power and torque, it found few takers due to its approximately Rs 300,000 premium over the smaller counterpart as it was a fully imported unit from Italy. Eventually, the company discontinued it with the S-Cross facelift in October 2017.

In comes petrol powerMaruti Suzuki, which had early in 2019, announced its strategy to dive out of diesel powertrains, first showcased the

petrol-engined S-Cross at the Auto Expo 2020 in February this year albeit the Covid-19 crisis delayed its market introduction. The BS VI S-Cross comes with a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder K-series engine that also does duty in the Ciaz, Ertiga, XL6 and was more recently also introduced in the face-lifted Vitara Brezza. It will also do duty in the soon-to-be-launched Vitara Brezza-based Urban Cruiser from the Toyota Kirloskar Motor stable in India.

The engine develops 103bhp and 138Nm of torque and conforms to BS VI emission norms — the main reason that drove the company’s strategy to exit the diesel segment, citing high cost of conversion to meet the stricter emissions regulations as well as the unrealistic timeframe for recovering the higher upfront cost of a diesel engine compared to petrol, from a buyer’s perspective.

The 1.5-litre motor K15 also gets an integrated starter generator to offer mild-hybrid functionalities and is christened ‘Smart Hybrid’ by Maruti Suzuki. The technology includes brake recuperation, engine torque assist and automatic engine start-stop. The system incorporates an additional lithium-ion battery over and above the lead-acid battery to store the energy recovered while braking and boost the engine

Maruti Suzuki S-Cross goes petrol-only in BS VI eraThe crossover, which opened the premium Nexa retail channel for the carmaker, gets a new 1.5-litre petrol motor, replacing the erstwhile 1.3-litre diesel to comply with BS VI emission norms. Will the S-Cross now get a new sales charge, queries Mayank Dhingra.

l Launched in June 2015, S-Cross has sold 125,906 units in India till end-March 2020.l The crossover is sold solely from Maruti's Nexa channel that has retailed over 1.1 million

units over a five-year period.l S-Cross had debuted with Fiat-sourced 1.6L and 1.3L diesel engine options. Maruti

Suzuki is now shifting to petrol-only strategy in stricter BS VI emissions regime.l New K-15 1.5-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine develops 103bhp and 138Nm.l Gear ratios same with the Brezza which also became a petrol-only model recently.l Four-speed torque converter automatic also introduced for the first time.l Mild-hybrid technology to enhance fuel economy; MT rated at 18.55kpl, AT at 18.43kpl.l Dual front airbags, ABS with EBD as standard; automatic gets hill-hold assist too.l S-Cross petrol prices range between Rs 840,000 to Rs 12.40 lakh ex-showroom, Delhi.

MARUTI S-CROSS-ES TO PETROL POWER

Kenichi Ayukawa, MD and CEO, and Shashank Shrivastava, executive director (Marketing and Sales), Maruti Suzuki India with the new S-Cross 1.5-litre BS VI Petrol.

The 1.5-litre, BS VI petrol engine develops 103bhp and 138Nm of torque and offers

mild hybrid benefits too.

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PASSENGER VEHICLES

The S-Cross petrol gets a four-speed automatic option and retains features like automatic wipers, touch-screen infotainment system and a mild-hybrid system.

C V Raman: “The progressive Smart Hybrid technology aids the engine to offer good efficiency even with a four-speed automatic transmission.”

during acceleration to aid efficiency. Maruti Suzuki claims a fuel economy of 18.55kpl for the five-speed manual and 18.43kpl for the automatic.

AT but no aesthetic updatesWhile the S-Cross remains unchanged in terms of its design and continues to retain the LED projector headlamps upfront, LED tail-lamps and diamond-cut alloy wheels, it now gets the option of a four-speed automatic transmission aimed to offer more convenience to the customer.

According to Kenichi Ayukawa, managing director, Maruti Suzuki India, “Our research has shown that an increasing number of customers are today preferring automatic cars and aligning to that need, the new S-Cross is being offered with a four-speed automatic transmission.”

In terms of safety, the crossover comes equipped with dual airbags, ABS with EBD and brake assist. The automatic version also gets hill hold assist feature in addition. The petrol-only BS VI S-Cross has been introduced at a price range of Rs 839,000 to Rs 1,239,000 ex-showroom, Delhi.

In a recent interaction with Autocar India, Shashank Srivastava, executive director (Sales and Marketing), Maruti Suzuki India, said, “We are going to position the new S-Cross as an urban SUV which is powerful, refined and sophisticated and target the group of customers who are outdoorsy and at the same time aspirational. Those are the customers who would prefer this kind of a vehicle.”

“We are very confident about the new K-15 petrol engine for retaining our earlier numbers and also increasing them. Even in

the SUV segment, there is definitely a shift towards petrol not only because of the narrowing gap between the prices of diesel and petrol but also because of the new petrol technology offering adequate power and a refined experience for this segment of cars. This is the reason why the Brezza petrol is also very successful, going by the number of bookings that we have already received.”

“In fact, a lot of prospective customers have given us the feedback that they were waiting for a petrol option as well as an automatic transmission in the S-Cross and we have obliged,” he added.

Naturally aspirated route For the S-Cross, which has had Suzuki’s 1.6-litre petrol powertrain overseas, the 1.5-litre engine is a new fit for the Indian market. According to CV Raman, senior executive director (Engineering), Maruti Suzuki India, “We had to change the engine mounting; the car has a pendulum mounting to give refinement in terms of noise and vibrations.”

“We also had to recalibrate the engine for BS VI compliance as well as for the progressive mild-hybrid system. Even though the gear ratios are common for both the Brezza and S-Cross, we have updated the final drive,” added Raman.

While the competition is increasingly moving towards downsizing, coupled with turbocharging, in order to meet the stringent BS VI norms as well as upcoming CAFE and RDE regulations, Maruti Suzuki has chosen to remain with the traditional naturally aspirated technology.

According to Raman, “We had a 1.0-litre ‘Boosterjet’ engine that was introduced in the Baleno RS. While it was a very niche

volume segment, our research shows that customers prefer a larger displacement engine in India compared to a downsized powertrain. So, from that perspective, we felt that the 1.5-litre petrol would be suitable for the S-Cross. Also, unlike Europe, we do not see that much of high-revving driving in India and that makes a lot of difference as a downsized engine struggles to deliver power at the lower end until the turbocharger kicks in.”

Traditional AT tech Moreover, as Hyundai and Kia are also catering to the growing market trend of customers preferring automatic transmissions by bringing a whole host of solutions right from conventional torque convertors, CVTs, dual-clutch transmissions (DCTs) to innovative clutch-less manual transmissions, Maruti Suzuki, however, lags far behind with its outdated and sole four-speed automatic transmission on offer on its models in India.

According to Raman, “The progressive Smart Hybrid tech aids the engine to offer good efficiency even with a four-speed automatic transmission.

That is a key consideration set for an AT customer; usually the impact on fuel efficiency is in the range of 10-15 percent compared to an automatic but here there’s hardly any difference between the by the two — the impact is very minimal, in fact, not existent from the customer’s point of view.”

Now, even as the market sentiment has taken a major setback owing to the catastrophic impact of the Covid-19 crisis, Maruti Suzuki, however, is betting big on its SUV models to drive customers into its showrooms. The Brezza and S-Cross do have a lot of work at hand.

According to Srivastava, “Our consumer research does suggest that there will be a telescoping of demand downwards but having said that, demand is not going to be evaporated altogether in different segments as there would always be demand for every segment coming from the one above it.”

With the PV market’s speedy shift to petrol power, India’s car market leader is also rapidly expanding to petrol power. This move is likely to pep up S-Cross' volumes as it has done for the Brezza. n

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PASSENGER VEHICLES

Tata Motors, India’s largest commercial vehicle maker,

expects a turnaround in its commercial vehicle CV sales volumes only after 4-6 months. The coronavirus- outbreak-led-lockdown has posed a huge challenge to the OEM, along with the rest of the industry. Even as lockdown restrictions ease, various challenges still remain for the CV business. “It still has issues like axle load norm impact, weak financing, BS VI cost, lower GDP growth. While LCVs are slowly starting to pick up, M&HCVs are extremely weak,” said PB Balaji, CFO, Tata Motors, in a conference call soon after announcing the Q1 results on July 31. During the quarter, Tata Motors’ CV volumes in the domestic retail market dropped by a whopping 97 percent, to 3,100 units. However, there’s a green shoot that Balaji says can be seen in the construction segment which is “slowly picking up”. Small CVs are leading the slow recovery, but the company is also facing some supply chain challenges in tapping the opportunities fully.

Passenger vehicles faring betterEven as the bigger pillar of Tata Motors’ business is still weak, its passenger vehicles business unit is doing better.

For the quarter ended June, Tata Motors’ market share in the PV industry stood at 9.5 percent, says Balaji. That’s double the market share the OEM saw at the end of FY2020, resulting in a fourth rank in the Indian PV industry. Tata Motors’ PV market performance is fuelled by its ‘reimagining PV’ strategy with a refreshed portfolio of models. Even as the 9.5 percent market share is a high “in the last many quarters”, it’s not time for Tata Motors to celebrate yet. “We intend to repeat this many more times before we can say that it’s really happened in a sustainable basis,” says Balaji. Tata Motors believes the performance is sustainable and therefore the team is “quietly confident” that it’s on the right track. During Q1, Tata Motors says it has climbed to the third position in the PV market. As reported by us in June, Tata Motors’ efforts to strike

Tata Motors turnaround of CVs not before December,PVs faring relatively better In a quarter badly hit by the pandemic , the OEM sees a dramatic fall in CV volumes, while its PV business unit shows some initial signs of heading in the right direction. Sumantra B Barooah reports.

With a refreshed portfolio, Tata Motors’ PV business arm sees improved performance; CVs may struggle for growth during the rest of 2020.

PB Balaji: "We believe the traction in the passenger vehicle business is sustainable."

an alliance with another OEM are also on track. The company’s Board, on July 31, approved the scheme of combining the passenger vehicle business unit and the electric vehicle business and hiving it off into a separate entity. Balaji says, while an alliance is a key plan, it’s not top priority currently. “It’s not an imperative for today. It’s an opportunity for tomorrow,” he says. The top priority now is to turnaround the company’s business and deliver cash. For the PV business, 2022-2023 is the period when the company expects it to turn cash positive. The PV business is also facing strong challenges, though it seems to be relatively less than the CV business. Retail sales of Tata PVs fell by 55 percent, to 18,600 units during the quarter. Balaji says though that demand for PVs was better in July, compared to June. In the EV

business, Tata Motors says its market share has reached 62 percent during the April-June period.

Tata Motors says it looks forward to a gradual pickup in demand and supply situation on the back of overall economic recovery expected in H2 of 2020-2021. The company wants to focus on conserving cash by ‘rigorously’ managing cost and investment spends to protect liquidity. The company has announced a cash improvement program of Rs 6,000 crore, including a cost improvement programme of Rs 1,500 crore. Capex for 2020-2021 is expected to be around Rs 1,500 crore, which is almost a third of what the OEM spends usually. With these actions, the company expects improving cash flows for the rest of the year and expects to end the current financial year with positive free cash flows. n

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TRACTORS

Hemant Sikka, who took on the role of president — farm

equipment sector, Mahindra & Mahindra on April 1, took on the new role, with an unusual problem in hand. His problem is to meet a level of market demand not seen in a long time. For example, last month was the best-ever July M&M’s tractors saw in terms of sales. The OEM sold 24,463 units, a 28 percent year-on-year growth. A good demand was expected this year, but the industry perhaps wasn’t prepared the demand it’s presented with. “I would use the word ‘ferociousness’ for the demand trend. Currently it's not really a demand challenge at all. It's a supply challenge,” Sikka told Autocar Professional in an interview earlier.

It’s a challenge for Sikka and his team because the country’s pandemic-hit supply chain is still some time away from functioning smoothly. “None of us have faced a situation of starting a factory after six weeks. I have never faced something like that,” says Sikka about the experience of restarting the plants in May. Some of his earlier positions has helped Sikka to develop strong relations in the supplier fraternity, and also become an supply chain expert himself. He’s

leveraging both to help minimise production disruption in M&M’s tractor plants, some of which are running at full capacity.

So, what is fuelling the unusually high demand trend in the tractor industry? For starters, it’s the early onset of monsoons in North India. Key factors related to the crop are growth (around 6 percent) in Rabi crop output, procurement by the government at higher MSP (Minimum Support Price) than earlier. MSP for Rabi crops for the marketing season 2020-21 was hiked by at least 1.5 times of the all-India weighted average cost of production.

Sikka says that the other positive factors are good reservoir levels and proper progression of the monsoon season. “If you have two factors playing positive and three factors playing negative then you get some kind of demand. If it's three positive and two negative you get another kind of demand, but when you have five factors positive and zero negative then there's a different demand. So, everything's is coming together now,” says Sikka.

With the positive developments, including better finance options, the tractor industry could be the only motorised vehicle industry to see

M&M foresees robust demand for the tractor industry this yearWhile the automobile industry faces major challenges due to economic reasons, the tractor industry sees unusually high demand. Sumantra B Barooah finds out what’s making the farmers rich.

Unusually strong demand should see the domestic tractor industry post growth this fiscal, after a fall of almost10 percent in FY2020.

Hemant Sikka: "Our K2 platform will come up with products for four territories — India, USA, Japan and South East Asia".

good growth in FY2021. It saw a 10 percent drop in FY2020. As that happens, M&M is also gearing up to tap more opportunities. It is developing a platform named ‘K2’ in collaboration with Mitsubishi, where M&M is the single largest shareholder. Multiple lightweight projects are being developed on the platform. Sikka says the ‘K2’ platform is a “very large configurable platform”, which will spawn products for four territories — India, USA, Japan and South East Asia.

As the semi-urban/rural markets are fuelling some demand for the automotive sector, tractors are leading the game for M&M. M&M’s domestic operations are on a strong wicket, though an overseas unit or two

may have to perform better. M&M is currently in the process of doing detailed analyses of each of its Group companies in order to decide regarding the continuation of investments in each, and enhance the organisation’s overall performance.

As M&M’s tractor business, along with the rest of the industry, enjoy strong gains, Sikka also counts the strong support he has received from his team in order to take on the role of being at the helm of affairs in M&M’s farm equipment sector. 2020 is Sikka’s 30th year in the automotive industry and the 21st year at M&M. It’s the first time he has taken up a new role in his career, sitting at home. Quite unlikely that he will ever forget year 2020. n

Mahindra- Final August 15.indd 15 8/17/2020 2:08:10 PM


E-MOBILITY

Guts. Gumption. Grit. That’s what it usually takes to win

a battle that seemingly seems lost at first sight. Delhi, India’s capital city, one of the most polluted cities in the country and the world, could be, in the near future, losing its poor reputation on the clean air front if the dynamic new Electric Vehicle (EV) policy, announced by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal

on August 7, is successfully implemented. Having first introduced it in December 2019, the Delhi State government officially notified the policy after a cabinet meeting.

The overarching goal of the EV policy, which has been reviewed by Autocar Professional, is strikingly clear and aims to put behind it the tepid adoption of EVs in Delhi (and in turn the country)

Delhi’s EV policy raises the bar for the rest of IndiaAll-encompassing electric vehicle policy that targets 500,000 EVs, 25 percent electrification of new vehicle fleet on the capital city’s roads by 2024 and also addresses the entire EV eco-system, offers buyer incentives as well as a first-in-India scrappage scheme, has the potential to have a national impact even as other states actively engage with electric mobility. Mayank Dhingra plugs in.

l Overall goal is to achieve 25 percent electrification of new vehicle fleet by 2024.l Notification gets legal backing for time-bound implementation.l Can have a national spin-off as Delhi is a major vehicle market.l Transformation of Delhi market can create upward pressure for zero emissions mandate

for India’s automobile industry.l Requires disciplined milestones for time-bound implementation to achieve stated targets

and raise the level of ambition.

DELHI EV POLICY: POTENTIAL IMPACT

Arvind Kejirwal, Chief Minister, Delhi: “The primary objective of the Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy is to establish Delhi as the EV capital of India and accelerate the pace of EV adoption across vehicle segments, especially in the mass category of two-wheelers, public / shared transport vehicles and goods carriers.”

EV sales in India are slowly picking up pace but despite a 20% year-on-year growth in FY2020, they comprise only 3.2% of all new vehicles sold.

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E-MOBILITY

TWO-WHEELERSl A purchase incentive of Rs 5,000 per kWh of battery

capacity (advanced battery), maximum incentive of Rs 30,000 per vehicle.

l Owner to get Rs 5,000 per vehicle for scrapping old ICE two-wheelers.

l Conversion of 50 percent and 100 percent of all fleet used by delivery services.

E-AUTOSl A purchase incentive of Rs 30,000 per vehicle (advanced

battery).l Interest subsidy of 5 percent on loans and / or hire

purchase scheme for e-autos.l Registered e-auto owner to get Rs 7,500 per vehicle for

scrapping old vehicle.

E-RICKSHAWS AND E-CARTSl A purchase incentive of Rs 30,000 per vehicle for

purchase of one e-rickshaw and e-cart. Additionally, an interest subsidy of 5 percent on loans on vehicles with advanced battery.

BUSESl Conversion of 50 percent of all new stage carriage buses

(all public transport vehicles with 15 seats or more) by 2022.

GOODS CARRIERSl A purchase incentive of Rs 30,000 per vehicle for the

first 10,000 e-carriers (applicable on advanced battery vehicles). Additionally an interest subsidy of 5 percent on loans. Registered e-carrier owner to get Rs 7,500 for scrapping old IC vehicle.

FOUR-WHEELERSl A purchase incentive of Rs 10,000 per kWh of battery

capacity (advanced battery), and maximum incentive of Rs 150,000 per vehicle shall be provided to the first 1,000 e-four wheelers.

APPLICABLE TO ALL VEHICLE SEGMENTSl Complete removal of road tax and registration fee for all

battery electric vehicles.l For swappable technology — if battery is not sold along

with vehicle, then 50 percent purchase incentive shall be provided to vehicle owner and the remaining 50 percent shall be provided to the energy operator.

HIGHLIGHTS OF DELHI’S EV POLICY

A BYD electric passenger-carrying bus undergoing testing. Delhi aims to convert 50 percent new buses to electric by 2022. Electric bus makers have a new opportunity to target sales.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZThe Delhi government has outlined a major thrust on electric two-wheelers and plans to convert entire fleets used by delivery services. It also plans to set up 200 charging stations by end-2021.

Sale of electric passenger cars in FY2020 stood at 3,600 units; OEMs are increasingly introducing new models with enhanced range and usability.

till now. The opening statement of the official document is sufficiently indicative of the Delhi government’s bold target: “The policy recognises that a new approach is required to kick-start the adoption of electric vehicles in Delhi as, despite the government push, the pace of adoption of EVs failed to meet expectations. It, therefore, seeks to put in place a comprehensive set

of measures for giving an impetus to the adoption of EVs.”

“The primary objective of the Delhi EV Policy is to establish Delhi as the EV capital of India and accelerate the pace of EV adoption across vehicle segments, especially in the mass category of two-wheelers, public/ shared transport vehicles and goods carriers. The policy shall seek to drive

rapid adoption of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) so that they contribute to 25 percent of all new vehicle registrations by 2024 and bring about a material improvement in Delhi’s environment by bringing down emissions from the transport sector. The policy, which is valid for a three-year period, will also seek to put in place measures to support the creation of jobs in driving,

selling, financing, servicing and charging of EVs.”

According to the Delhi chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, who announced the EV policy in a video message, “The Delhi EV policy is one of the better policies among all those announced around the world, targeted to curb air pollution. We also aim to boost Delhi's economy after the setback due to coronavirus.”

CSE



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500,000 EVs by 2024, incentives aplentyFor India Auto Inc, which is always keen for clarity in policies that impact the automotive industry, the Delhi EV Policy can be seen to be farsighted, having outlined its plan to register 500,000 EVs in the city by 2024 or targeted 25 percent electrification of the new vehicle fleet by 2024. It won’t be easy though, given that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’ VAHAN database shows that only 3.2 percent of new vehicles registered in FY2020 were EVs. But the flurry of incentives offered by the state government through its newly incorporated ‘State EV Fund’ as well as the State Electric Vehicle Board, which will be chaired by the transport minister, Kailash Gahlot, should draw both existing EV industry players as well as newcomers. Meanwhile, a dedicated EV Cell is also being established to implement the policy at the ground level. And, according to Kejriwal, “We will keep reviewing and updating it (the EV Policy) from time to time. The policy shows the intent and direction of the Delhi

state government,” he added.

In terms of specific milestones, the Delhi EV policy aims to:l Increase EV registrations in the city by 2024 to 25 percent of total vehicles sold. The number currently stands at 0.2 percent. l Create new jobs including driving, selling, financing, servicing and charging of EVs. Focus on bringing in new types of jobs.l Offer incentives over and above the FAME II scheme.

While the central government has in place its FAME II scheme for accelerating adoption of EVs by offering various incentives to prospective customers, the Delhi EV policy too has lots in store for those sitting on the fence. “EVs are very expensive today and are out of reach of the common man. Therefore, to ensure that majority of people are able to buy them, we are announcing various incentives,” said the chief minister.

The segment-wise incentives offered by the state government are:l Electric two-wheelers — up to Rs 30,000 incentive from the state government

THE TELANGANA GOVERNMENT has given approval for the state’s Electric Vehicle policy that aims to make it an EV manufacturing hub and drive adoption of the eco-friendly vehicles. The state has revealed an ambitious plan to draw investment of up to US $3 billion (Rs 23,000 crore) by 2030. It also aims to create direct employment of more than 120,000 and 250,000 indirect opportunities.

The policy, which was announced on the same day as the Delhi EV Policy on August 7, has announced incentives for the overall EV ecosystem including exemption of 100 percent road tax and registration for the first 200,000 e-two-wheelers; 5,000 units of four-wheelers and 20,000 electric autorickshaws.

For customers looking for retrofit technology, the policy will incentivise three-wheelers for up to 15 percent of the cost (capped at Rs 15,000 per vehicle) for the first 5,000 units; first 10,000 electric LCVs (including three-wheelers), 5,000 personal vehicle cars and 500 electric buses.

To draw investment from companies in the green vehicle space, Telangana will offer 20 percent capital investment subsidy (maximum up to Rs 30 crore), discount of up to 25 percent in power tariffs (maximum up to Rs 5 crore), full reimbursement of SGST up to Rs 25 crore for seven years, interest subvention of 5.25 percent for five years capped at Rs 5 crore and other incentives like exemptions in stamp duty.

Telangana will also set up an energy park at Divitapally and plans to set up another EV park, besides using the existing electronic manufacturing clusters at Raviryal and Maheshwaram for facilitating the establishment of the new EV plants.

According to the Telangana government, around Rs 1,425 crore will be spent towards incentives and will make 775 acres of land available for EV manufacturers.

Commenting on the policy, Jitendra Shah, managing director, Jitendra New EV tech said: “We thank the Telangana government for the 100 percent exemption of road tax and registration fee on electric vehicles. It benefits the consumers directly and this will definitely support the growth of the electric vehicle industry. This move will also create a people's movement to opt for green mobility and contribute to environment. The Divitapally energy park will be of a great advantage for the manufacturing establishments and will contribute towards self-reliant India.” NILESH WADHWA

TELANGANA BULLISH ON EV INDUSTRY

Telangana government will spend Rs 1,425 crore in incentives and make 775 acres of land available to EV manufacturers.

India is highly dependent on imports to meet as much as 86 percent of its oil requirements. An all-encompassing EV policy will certainly bring a shift in the consumption pattern.



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l Electric passenger vehicles — up to Rs 150,000l Auto-rickshaws — up to Rs 30,000l E-rickshaws — up to Rs 30,000l E-goods carriers — up to Rs 30,000

Scrapping incentive, registration waiver, charging stationsWhile all these benefits will be offered over and above the FAME II scheme and will be applicable on both fixed as well as swappable lithium-ion battery vehicles, the Delhi government, however, has also announced a vehicle scrapping incentive for the first time ever by any state in the country.

According to the CM, “If a person exchanges their old conventionally powered vehicle with a new EV, the scrapping incentive will be given.” However, the amount varies from Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,500 and is applicable on two-wheelers, autos and goods carriers. Moreover, to procure electric commercial vehicles, the Delhi government has also announced an interest waiver on loans to buy these vehicles and has also announced an overall waiver of registration fee and road tax on any EV being registered in the city until the policy expires after three years. .

To aid convenience to EV users and address the range anxiety challenge, the Delhi EV policy also talks big about setting up of charging infrastructure in the city. While the state government is offering a 100 percent subsidy on charging equipment costing up to Rs 6,000 per unit, subject to a limit of 30,000 chargers, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal also announced a plan to set up 200 charging stations in the city within the next one year. “Our target is to eventually end

up having one charging station in every 3 km radius,” he said.

Moreover, to ensure that the youth gets relevant jobs, the minister also announced that EV-related training will be imparted by the government so that people become employable in new roles coming up with the transformation of the mobility ecosystem in the future.

“We are hopeful that Delhi will see registration of over 500,000 EVs over the next five years. EVs are the talking point around the world today and this policy is such that we expect Delhi to rank higher in the global tally five years down the line,” remarked Kejriwal. And that’s got the industry and stakeholders lauding the dynamic new EV policy.

The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has welcomed the EV Policy. In a statement, the research body said: “The proposed 25 percent transformation of Delhi’s new vehicle market can catalyse EV production and bring more product diversity. State-level action is critical to achieve nation-wide scale. The incentive programme designed by the Delhi government is additional to the Central government’s already existing incentive scheme called FAME II. This combination is expected to make the incentives package more attractive in Delhi.”

What’s more, the policy is aligned with the global trend, where a number of key vehicle markets have stayed on course to continue to support the EV programme despite the economic slowdown. Most notable is the European market where, because of the incentive programme and strong requirement of low carbon emissions from vehicle fleet, EV sales have remained robust. While

THE STATE OF Andhra Pradesh has in the past few years suddenly shot into the automotive limelight. The state is fast transforming itself into a major hub for automobile and component manufacturers. Isuzu Motors India, Hero MotoCorp, Kia Motors India, Apollo Tyres and Bharat Forge are some of the major brands which have set up manufacturing operations in the state.

Now, in a bid to further grow its status in the domestic automotive industry, the state is gearing up to take a lead in the world of electric mobility. Having recognised that the Central government has lent its shoulder to the cause of e-mobility, more and more Indian states have already announced their own EV policies or are coming out with one. Like Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh too is keen to become a manufacturing hub for electric vehicles and develop an e-mobility ecosystem.

Going by numbers, the Indian EV industry saw sales of around 156,000 vehicles across two-, three-, four-wheelers and bus segment. Meanwhile, there has been a sharp rise in the number of new players across the EV ecosystem – vehicle makers, component suppliers, BMS and battery makers, and charging infrastructure. But the results are not yet significant enough to drive mass EV adoption. Therefore, a concentrated effort by all stakeholders, along with the relevant support and infrastructure would play a key role to drive EV sales. This is an area where Andhra Pradesh expects to excel.

In an exclusive interview with Autocar Professional, Mekapati Goutham Reddy, Minister of Industries, Commerce, IT & Skill Development, Andhra Pradesh says: “The state (Andhra Pradesh) has unveiled ‘Electric Mobility Policy 2018-2023’ with an aim to support every aspect of electric mobility and accelerate adoption of EVs that eventually leads to a healthier environment. This policy mainly emphasises and encourages manufacturers, charging infrastructure, demand creation, and research and development. Andhra Pradesh’s EV policy is looking to attract Rs 30,000 crore of investment by 2030. It is also looking to create jobs for 60,000 people. The state government also aims at making all commercial vehicles go electric by 2030. “

As part of its EV Policy, the Andhra Pradesh government has extended incentives to EV battery manufacturers. What’s more, it could be looking to set up a gigafactory too.NILESH WADHWA

ANDHRA PRADESH: AGGRESSIVE POLICY

Mekapati G Reddy, Industries Minister, Andhra Pradesh: "Our EV policy is targetting Rs 30,000 crore investment by 2030."



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overall sales of IC engine-powered vehicles have reduced across Europe by 52 percent year on year in March 2020, the EV market share has increased overall to reach an all-time high market share of 10 percent (average for all manufacturers) by March 2020. This has been further spurred by the increased purchase incentives in some countries including Germany, France and Spain favouring EVs.

What captains of EV industry say The comprehensive Delhi EV Policy has already drawn praise from industry stakeholders. Sohinder Gill, director general, Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV), said: “Finally, we have the

much-awaited EV policy out for Delhi. We thank the Delhi government for implementing the policy that extensively covers key measures required by the industry to move in the right direction. It has a defined target and timeline that has potential to make the capital one of the leading states in terms of electric vehicle adoption. Most importantly, this policy will provide more push to the existing EV architecture than the current FAME II scheme. The customers who were unable to get subsidy under the Central government’s scheme due to certain restrictive norms, now have a chance to avail subsidy under this scheme. It has also set an example of how a policy can run without using exchequer money.

SMEV’s Sohinder Gill: “The Delhi EV policy, in a way, is a benchmark for other states’ policy to follow, that are based mostly on attracting manufacturers rather than catalysing demand.”

Mahindra Electric Mobility’s Mahesh Babu: “The open-permit system for electric autos in Delhi will promote green commute. The policies are in line with India's aim to cut oil import bill, pollution.”

Hero Electric’s Naveen Munjal: “I express my gratitude to CM, Arvind Kejriwal and his team for his vision and for this progressive policy. I hope it will inspire other states in India to adopt similar measures.”

THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY contributes to over 7 percent of India’s GDP, and nearly half of the country’s manufacturing GDP. Obviously then, any state which wants to be a leading industrial hub cannot quite ignore the sector.

Maharashtra, traditionally a leading industrial hub, and home to Indian and foreign OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, and companies from other sectors, wants to remain an attractive destination in the coming years too. With states like Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat rising up the ranks quite strongly in terms of attracting investments from the auto industry, Maharashtra is upping the ante.

So, moving with the times Maharashtra now wants to be a major hub for electric vehicles (EV) too. “Now, we are very keen to set up an electric vehicle manufacturing hub. We are negotiating with many investors and companies,” Subhash Desai, Industries Minister, Maharashtra government, tells Autocar Professional. It is learnt that industry players from Germany and Hungary are also in talks with the government regarding investments in the state. One of them is Csepel, a Hungarian electric bus maker.

Maharashtra already has an EV policy in place. The minister says he is confident that it will pave the way for EV industry players to drive into the state. Betting on the Maharashtra government’s EV policy’s attractiveness he says, “We have verified this with the investors as well as the Indian domestic manufacturers. They say that there is nothing wrong, it is a perfect policy, and as time progresses people are bound to come here.”

Even as Maharashtra remains among the top choices of new investors, other states are catching up quite fast. In terms of investments from the auto sector, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have emerged as top contenders for new investments from new and existing players like Suzuki Motor Corporation, Kia Motors, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India. Desai, a veteran minister, welcomes the competition, and also exudes confidence that Maharashtra, India’s third largest state area wise, will remain ahead of competition. “We are already on the top. There is no difficulty if other states are competing. In fact, I welcome this healthy competition,” he says. He bets on Maharashtra’s “complete industrial and business ecosystem” to be able to attract the major chunk of the investments that come to India. He shares that the state currently has over 30 percent share in India’s inbound investments. SUMANTRA B BAROOAH

MAHARASHTRA KEEN TO BE AN EV HUB

Subhash Desai, Industries Minister, Maharashtra government: “We are very keen to set up an electric vehicle manufacturing hub. We are negotiating with many investors and companies.”

Although EVs are zero-emission vehicles, with India's power generation predominantly coming from coal, only a well-to-wheel assessment gives the true picture of actual benefits. SU

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The Delhi policy, in a way, is a benchmark for other states’ policy to follow, that are based mostly on attracting manufacturers rather than catalysing demand.”

Gill added, “The only small missing point in the policy is that it doesn’t support lithium-battery e-scooters with speeds up to 25kph. These e-scooters are particularly popular with Delhiites because of their attractive prices and extremely low running costs. With a bit of support of the Delhi government, the adoption of such e-scooters would have grown multi-fold. We hope the government would look into it and make some amendments in the future.”

Mahesh Babu, MD and CEO, Mahindra Electric Mobility, commented:

“We thank the Delhi and Telangana governments for quickly notifying robust and well-thought EV policies that will further boost the electric vehicle sales in the respective states. Both the EV policies are aimed at faster adoption of EVs, both in the personal and shared mobility segments. Extending the incentives to personal buyers will further help the development of the entire ecosystem. The open-permit system for electric autos in Delhi with the vision of promoting zero-emission last and first-mile commute will promote green commute in the capital. The policies are in line with India's aim to reduce its oil import bill and air pollution.”

Naveen Munjal, managing director, Hero

Electric, said: “I would like to congratulate the Delhi government on launching the new electric vehicle policy that will go a long way in boosting Delhi’s economy, creating jobs and reducing air pollution in the national capital. The incentives declared under this policy will be beneficial to the customers and will certainly help Delhi achieve its goal of electrification of vehicles. I would like to express my gratitude to the CM, Arvind Kejriwal and his team for his vision and for this progressive policy and hope that it will inspire other states in India to adopt similar measures.”

Nagesh Basavanhalli, MD and CEO, Greaves Cotton, commented: "The EV Policy announced by the Delhi government is a welcome step in the right direction as it will encourage the adoption of electric vehicles in the capital and will set an example for other states to follow. The new policy providing incentives worth Rs 30,000 on electric two- and three-wheelers, along with loan facilities on low-interest rates will not only boost EV adoption, but also generate employment opportunities."

"Taking a step further, the policy also talks about strengthening the infrastructure by setting up

200 charging stations. This will go a long way to create a sustainable ecosystem that will impact us and the next generation in a positive way.”

Jeetender Sharma, MD and founder of Okinawa Scooters, remarked: “When it comes to the adoption of EVs, affordability has been one of the major concerns for buyers. Since most of the EV manufacturers have to import parts like battery cells which are not manufactured in India, this increases the cost of the product. With Delhi government announcing incentives of up to Rs 30,000 on two-wheelers, we expect to see an easy and faster adoption of the same among buyers now. What is more important is to push people towards considering EVs over ICE. Once people become familiar and comfortable travelling on EVs, we can expect an overall mindset shift and a widespread benefit.”

Jitendra Shah, MD, Jitendra New EV Tech, said: “We applaud the Delhi government's move of approving the Delhi EV Policy. It would provide positive momentum in a time when the industry is weathering the adverse effects of Covid-19 pandemic. We hope that these fiscal and non-

Greaves Cotton’s Nagesh Basavanhalli: "The EV Policy providing incentives worth Rs 30,000 on electric two- and three-wheelers, along with loan facilities on low-interest rates, will boost EV adoption.”

Okinawa Scooters’ Jeetender Sharma: “Once people become familiar and comfortable travelling on EVs, we can expect an overall mindset shift in consumers and also a widespread benefit.”

Jitendra New EV Tech’s Jitendra Shah: “We hope that these fiscal and non-fiscal incentives will help the industry in not only coming back to its feet but also to take steady strides ahead.”

Nexzu Mobility India’s Pankaj Tiwari: "The consumer-focused incentivisation will bring the different categories of EVs in the consideration set of buyers, who were shying away so far.”

CSE’s Anumita Roychowdhury: “This step in Delhi can not only accelerate a zero emissions trajectory to reduce air pollution and toxic emissions, but it can also have a national spin-off.”

Delhi government's forward-thinking approach has gained praise and applause from EV stakeholders across the board.



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fiscal incentives will help the industry in not only coming back to its feet but also to take steady strides ahead.”

Pankaj Tiwari, Business Head of Nexzu Mobility India, said: "The Delhi government's policy for EVs comes at the right time for this industry segment, which has been reeling under recessionary condition. The consumer-focused incentivisation will bring the different categories of EVs in the consideration set of buyers, who were shying away so far. The policy is also holistic in nature that will be steered by an 'EV Cell'. Further, the state government envisages setting up a strong network of charging infrastructure comprising of 200 charging stations that will act as a catalyst to the growth of the segment."

And eco warrior Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director (Research & Advocacy), Centre for Science and Environment, had this to say: “It is commendable that this much-awaited notification has happened despite the ongoing Covid-19 crisis and economic slowdown. In fact, this policy is being seen as a stimulus strategy to boost jobs and economy.”

“This step in Delhi can not only accelerate zero emissions trajectory to reduce air pollution and toxic emissions from internal combustion engines, it can also have a national spin-off. According to the last available Road Transport Year Book of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in 2016-17, Delhi is ninth among all states and top among all cities in terms of cumulative vehicle registrations.”

Other states plug in tooAs the buzz around electric mobility grows in India, many states are

preparing to adopt mass-scale electric mobility, with some wanting to take a lead particularly in manufacturing and investments in the EV industry. Telangana announced its EV policy on the same day as did Delhi (see separate news panel on page 18). Last October, the Union Territory of Chandigarh prepared a draft policy, thereby becoming the latest entrant in the list of states which have either come out or have a draft policy. The others include Maharashtra, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Bihar. Chandigarh, which has the highest density of vehicles in India with around 1.2 million vehicles, is facing the challenge of their emission impact on air quality. Chandigarh wants to become 'one of the world’s leading clean vehicle cities'. Towards achieving these objectives, the UT proposes the following: l Only EVs to be registered in the city after 2030. l To have all-electric fleet of public buses by 2027. l To have all-electric government fleet by 2025. l To have all electric rickshaws, corporate fleets, cabs and school buses / vans on road by 2030. l To install 1,000 public EV chargers by 2030.

Nitin Gadkari: “India is power surplus, so the benefits of e-mobility solutions are very much in the interest of the country. There is a strong need to develop an import substituting, cost-effective, indigenous, and pollution-free sustainable transportation system in the country and one of the most important solutions is public transport using electricity.”

In September 2019, Tamil Nadu, a major IC engine industry hub and known as the ‘Detroit of the East’, drafted a policy to be India’s ‘EV hub’ aimed at attracting Rs 50,000 crore investment. The broad objectives are:l Create robust infrastructure for EVs including adequate power supply and network of charging points with favourable power tariff.l Promote EV innovation for automotive and shared mobility by providing the ecosystem and infrastructure.l Create a pool of skilled workforce for the EV industry through the technical institutions available in the State and create new jobs in the EV industry.l Make Tamil Nadu the preferred destination for EVs and component manufacturing units including battery and charging infrastructure. l Create a conducive environment for industry and research institutions to focus on cutting edge EV tech. l Recycle and reuse used batteries and dispose the rejected batteries in an environment friendly manner to avoid pollution.

Will Delhi’s comprehensive EV policy give a new charge to vehicle electrification in

the country? EV industry stakeholders would fervently hope so. Given the wallet-busting prices of petrol and diesel fuel in the country, the growing realisation, following the Covid-induced lockdown, among citizens, especially millennials, is that India can also have clean air and blue skies, and now a good level of incentives for shifting from ICE to EV, this just might prove to be a turning point in the domestic EV industry’s growth trajectory.

There is little doubt that given the size of the country, its population, the strong Central government push towards EVs and the need to reduce air pollution, that India has the potential to become one of the largest EV markets in the world. As more and more states build momentum for EV usage across manufacturing, infrastructure and services sectors, the way forward will be incentivise the entire eco-system, so much so that along with make in India, EV OEMs and suppliers can also actively participate in the export from India programme.

The government is also targeting greater traction. On August 6, speaking at the India e-Mobility Conclave 2020, Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Minister of Shipping, and the Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises said: “India is power surplus so the benefits of e-mobility solutions are very much in the interest of the country. There is a strong need to develop an import substituting, cost-effective, indigenous, and pollution-free sustainable transportation system in the country and one of the most important solutions is public transport using electricity.” nl Hitachi ABB Power Grids targets India's commercial vehicle OEMs, p24


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The electric vehicle industry has been one of the strongest

recipients of positivity in the current tough times. So, when two global majors come together to form a joint venture, the result is disruptive innovation that promises to change the way things work. That is exactly what the $11 billion (Rs 81,411 crore) JV between Hitachi and ABB announced last month, promises to do.

In July 2020, Japanese conglomerate Hitachi acquired 80.1 percent of Switzerland-based ABB’s power grid business, which led to the birth of Hitachi ABB Power Grids. On July 15, the company launched Grid-eMotion Fleet, which is said to be a game-changing grid-to-

Hitachi ABB Power Grids targets CV fleet marketGame-changing charging system for electric mobility is a full ‘grid-to-plug’ solution for large-scale public transport and commercial fleets, enabling operators to charge more with less. Nilesh Wadhwa finds out how Bangalore-based Hitachi-ABB plans to plug into the Indian commercial vehicle market.

l The Grid-eMotion Fleet solution comes in standard containers that integrate the grid connection and charging systems all together.

l Grid-eMotion Fleet uses DC technology and can connect to any type of power network, removing the complexities of integrating AC-DC chargers into a system.

l Compared to a conventional connection to the AC grid, the pioneering solution brings a 60 percent reduction in space required for large-scale EV fleet charging, whilst the depot cabling is reduced by 40 percent.

l The fast-to-install solution harnesses renewable energy through grid integration, smart mobility, digital energy management system and incorporates insights from data analytics.

l Digital analysis monitors the battery life data, route data, traffic simulation and depot control to ensure that efficient power use, energy storage and overnight charging is optimised.

WHAT IS GRID-EMOTION FLEET?

Rendering of aerial view of the Grid-eMotion Fleet.

Grid-eMotion Fleet leverages Hitachi ABB Power Grids’ smart energy management solution e-mesh EMS to manage and enhance the complete charging infrastructure, calculate bus energy consumption and devise, plan and deliver effective services for passengers.

plug EV charging system for public transport and commercial operators. The solution enables operators to efficiently scale up their operations and is expected to contribute to sustainable society in urban areas. The Grid-eMotion Fleet is said to mark a shift from a charger-product based approach to a charging-system-based approach, which will help accelerate the future of electric mobility.

Niklas Persson, MD of the Grid Integration business unit at Hitachi ABB Power Grids, said: “The Grid-eMotion Fleet launch is a game-changer for anyone managing public transport and commercial EV fleets. Grid-eMotion Fleet delivers unprecedented

E-Mobility - Hitachi ABB AD July 22.indd 24 8/17/2020 12:27:44 PM

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scalability, space savings and operational efficiency. The solution will accelerate the global uptake of safe, sustainable and smart mobility, whilst contributing to cleaner air and an enhanced quality of life for today’s generation and those to come.”

60% space saving, 40% reduction in cablingWhat exactly is Grid-eMotion Fleet? The solution comes in standard containers that integrate the grid connection and charging systems all together. The system uses DC technology and can connect to any type of power network, removing the complexities of integrating AC-DC chargers into a system. Compared to a conventional connection to the AC grid, the solution offers a 60 percent reduction in space required for large-scale EV fleet charging, whilst the depot cabling is reduced by 40 percent. The fast-to-install solution harnesses renewable energy through grid integration, smart mobility, digital energy management system and incorporates insights from data analytics.

The new solution leverages Hitachi ABB Power Grids’ smart energy management solution e-mesh EMS to manage and enhance the complete charging infrastructure, calculate bus energy consumption and devise, plan and deliver effective services for passengers.

The digital analysis monitors the battery life data, route data, traffic simulation and depot control to ensure that efficient power use, energy storage and overnight charging is optimised.

The company estimates that globally, 80 percent of municipal bus fleets are forecast to be electric by 2040. With more than 400,000 electric buses already in service today, and the number expected to grow to 2.3 million e-buses by 2040, operators now need solutions that go beyond the charger to help them connect seamlessly to the grid to power their expanding EV fleets.

India: a key marketABB, which has been working in the field of EV charging infrastructure for over a decade, has a widespread presence India, with a number of engineers working at Hitachi ABB Power Grids India, which operates as ABB Power Products and Systems India. Another interesting aspect is that in January 2020, the company partnered leading commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland. The partners worked on developing a pilot electric bus based on ABB’s innovative flash-charge technology called 'TOSA' (Trolleybus Optimisation Système Alimentation). This tops up the battery while passengers board and de-board the bus. As

The Grid-eMotion Fleet solution comes in standard containers that integrate the grid connection and charging systems all together.

On January 9, 2020, Ashok Leyland and ABB Power Grids

inked an MoU to develop a pilot electric bus based on ABB’s innovative 'TOSA' innovative

flash-charge technology. (L-R): Dr N Saravanan, President

& CTO, Ashok Leyland and N Venu, MD, ABB Power Products.

What is the plan behind the development of the Grid e-Motion solution? We have been working on the charging system since 2011, internally, by thinking about innovation. That’s nearly a decade of experience and innovation for e-mobility, especially in the field of charging. We have experience with our charging system — the e-Motion Flash — which has been there for several years and has over a million hours of operations, with different operators, where we have learned a lot.

We came up with our Grid e-Motion Fleet solution around 2018. From a technology standpoint, we looked at power electronics, and especially different ways of doing the charging system from AC-DC to DC-DC charging. Then, we decided to work towards the DC-DC charging area; the real work has been really done in 2019 until now.

Grid e-Motion is not just on paper, it is in a pilot project in Italy at a depot of an operator in Milano. We have been investing since 2010, in our competencies related to e-mobility, technologies, people, and not just limited to fleet. When we think about investments specifically for the e-Motion Fleet, we cannot look at it in isolation — we need to see it holistically across people, technology, labs, partners and engineers. What you see is the investment of over

a decade by Hitachi ABB Power Grids.

What is the business potential for Grid e-Motion in India? Can you let us know which companies and States have evinced interest in the same? We are targeting states and municipalities where they want to work with FAME II scheme. There is a list of over 15 cities that are listed and we are having interactions with some.

Hitachi ABB Power Grids considers India as one of the key markets in the Asian region. What is the target set by the company for the country?As any organisation and business, we have our internal KPIs. Our ambition is first to have operators who think this solution can bring extra value to what they offer in the market, and

enable them to see that it is possible to go large-scale and not just pilot. From that ambition, we want to be market leader. We are not here to do side-business, just like the last percentage of revenues for the business. We believe the future is a lot around the grid and e-mobility. We are in between the two and want to be the market leader here. The Grid e-Motion Fleet is the consequence of this ambition from the innovation standpoint.

App-based mobility platforms such as Ola, Uber, and organisations such as Amazon have announced their intent to have a significant percentage of their vehicles to be electric. Will you be open to working with them?If you have an operations strategy, where you foresee your fleet is going to be distributed across the city and not going to have a location where you have several chargers, but instead have one charger every few kilometres, then that’s your strategy and you will buy chargers and not going to do anything else. If you have a strategy for your fleet, where you have hubs to park, maintain and charge, this is where we can come in and set up several chargers at the hub.

Whenever you need 10 chargers or more, you will find the Hitachi ABB Power Grids solution very effective.

INTERVIEW ANDRE BURDET, HEAD OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT, HITACHI ABB

‘Whenever you need 10 chargers or more, you will find the Hitachi ABB Power Grids solution very effective.‘


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a result, it eliminates the need to take the vehicle out of service for recharging or having a replacement bus ready.

Autocar Professional spoke to Andre Burdet, head of Product Management & Marketing Grid, Hitachi ABB Power Grids to understand the company's plans for India. “The first aspect of the solution is to enable space saving and compactness but not at the expense of a higher cost. We are looking to tremendously reduce the footprint this solution takes in the commercial approach. If you take factors such as populated and dense areas, often you end up with a simple problem such as that charging infrastructure eats up the space for the vehicles. Our solution removes the complexity, because you have an electrical system cabinet that can fit wherever you want, and then you just have the pores and cables coming where you need the charge.”

“The second aspect for India, if you look at the FAME II regulation, the regulation will put rates and saving of floor rates of dollar per kilowatt hours of electricity sold. That means one of the ways to help the e-mobility and e-buses market emerge in India is that municipalities have to have a financial scheme where the operator is not willing to spend the capex because of financing issues, but simply has to have the capacity to invest in charging infrastructure. Then, they will pay rates regulated by FAME II and helped by the subsidies to this third-party who will own the asset. e-Motion Fleet is a completely well-defined asset that has all the element for third-party and investment firms, green firms or developers that can purchase in bulk and have the clarity and scope and the business

case that is related to in the infrastructure. Our solution simplifies the infrastructure side for the developers and owners. Then we have the digital aspect to the solution, tracking the energy flows, which we can help to add billing, and match it with the model that you have under FAME II regulation.”

“The last aspect is that we are especially focussed with this solution in India, although the starting evolution has been made in Europe. We have our teams across India — in Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai — where we have a robust engineering teams. We also have some certain parts of this solution being localised in the organisations in India. For us, it’s also about bringing innovation in the country. With e-Motion Fleet in India, you can be sure that our engineers in the country are able to supply and manage it.”

Flash charging pilot with Ashok Leyland, IIT-MadrasThe Indian market is considered one of the most promising market for electric mobility. For the commercial vehicle segment, which sees two players (Tata Motors and

Ashok Leyland) dominate, having Ashok Leyland as its partner certainly gives Hitachi ABB Power Grids an accelerated start to deploy its solutions.

In August 2019, the Department of Heavy Industries (DHI) Ministry, Government of India sanctioned 5,595 electric buses to 64 cities, in 18 states and 3 Union Territories for intra- and inter-city operations under the FAME India scheme phase II.

Will Hitachi ABB Power Grids and Ashok Leyland participate in the scheme? Burdet says, “First of all in terms of localisation, it is very important and also part of FAME II regulation with the Opex model, and we fully support it, and is the direction we will go towards. We already have

our engineering team in India, and also we want to maximise localisation in the country for business reasons. We believe in India in the long term and given the pollution currently seen in cities, the energy consumption, and quality of life, we want to contribute towards a greener change. We believe that India will have a massive contribution towards a greener future. In terms of partnering with Ashok Leyland, we have signed a partnership with them in January 2020, and obviously we have a long-term view for the market together, which includes possibly the scheme that you have mentioned. I cannot disclose and talk in detail about it, but possibly if you want to be successful in India, it is important to have a partner and an Opex model in the fleets, having configured the fleet and system with the partner.”

“Hitachi ABB Power Grids could be a potential bidder for such a tender. We can refer to the agreement that we have signed together (with Ashok Leyland) and that could possibly be one of the things at this stage. We don’t have anything finalised at the moment. Looking at the Indian market, it is not rocket science to see how disruptive this solution is,” adds Burdet.

He further reveals that the company is “partnering (along with Ashok Leyland) to develop the pilot flash charging project with IIT-Madras by CY2021. We are happy that the institute is helping us to host this pilot.”

With a robust presence India and a strong partnership already in place, Hitachi ABB Power Grids is looking to play a key role towards enabling large-scale e-mobility fleet. Will it give a new charge to EV fleets in India? Stay plugged in. n

ABB and Ashok Leyland are working a pilot electric bus based on ABB’s innovative flash-charge technology called 'TOSA'. This tops up the battery while passengers board and de-board the bus, eliminating the need to take the vehicle out of service for recharging or having a replacement bus ready.



E-MOBILITY

For India to be a major global hub for electric vehicles

(EV), which many stakeholders believe she can be, there has to be appropriate holistic efforts. Srivaru Motors (SVM), a Coimbatore-based EV maker, harbours some holistic plans which, if successful, will not

only help establish itself as a major EV industry player but also contribute to creating a robust indigenous EV ecosystem, especially in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Srivaru Motors has commenced its market journey in a low profile manner in the midst of the ongoing coronavirus

Mohanraj Ramasamy: "We want to be a mainstream player, with good quality bikes for serious bikers."

A new Indian EV maker begins its journey After around five years of preparations, Coimbatore-based Srivaru Motors has launched its first point of interface with the market amidst the ongoing challenging times. Sumantra B Barooah finds out how this EV maker is scripting a fully ‘Make-in-India’ story, with plans for more than electric vehicles.

pandemic. The emerging EV OEM inaugurated its first experience centre-cum-dealership, on the outskirts of Coimbatore, on July 2. After readying its debut model Prana, this is the first step in the market for SVM towards realising its ambition. “We want to be a mainstream player, with good quality bikes for

Srivaru Motors - Final August 15.indd 28 8/17/2020 12:29:03 PM


E-MOBILITY

l Srivaru Motors' first experience centre-cum-dealership opened on July 2 in Coimbatore.l Prana will have 3 variants. Debut model, the mid-variant, Grand will hit the market first

by Diwali. The Prana Grand comes with a 4.32 kW lithium-ion battery pack. The top-end variant, Elite will be the second offering.

l Plant near Coimbatore can currently produce up to 6,000 motorcycles every month. SVM has received expressions of interest from over 300 individuals to be dealers

l SVM, together with supplier partners, plans to invest Rs 150 crore in Tamil Nadu over next 10 years. State government believes its recently announced EV Policy will generate employment for up to 150,000 persons.

l SVM has a team of 30 engineers based in Coimbatore. Three patents — chassis design, ease of mode functionality, and active helmet (air circulation) technology — are currently under process.

FAST FACTS

serious bikers,” Mohanraj Ramasamy, founder and CEO, Srivaru Motors, tells Autocar Professional. Over 50 users visited the experience centre, and over 30 test rides were taken on the inaugural day. Since then, one or two visitors were there every day at the experience centre initially.

Prana positionIf the original launch plan could have been executed, SVM would have built a customer base by now, but the pandemic played spoilsport. Mohan says the Prana received the homologation certificate in end January and was scheduled for market launch in April. The Prana will make a market debut before Diwali now. However, Mohan says, the Prana has already found customers. “Thousands” of test rides have already been conducted and “thousands” have expressed interest in buying the motorcycle, while “hundreds” have booked a Prana with an initial payment of Rs 1,999. Consumer response has apparently come from across India, “mostly from affluent Tier 1 cities”, according to Mohan.

The Prana is positioned as a ‘clean’ commuter bike with a good to strong dose of performance. The motorcycle will come with three variants — Elite, Grand, Class. The Prana Grand will be launched first, and will be followed by the Elite variant. The Prana Grand comes with a 4.32 kW lithium-ion battery pack which can be charged in four hours, and provides a “true range” of 126km. The claimed top speed is 123kph. What could be a major factor drawing the consumer interest is the 0-60kph acceleration time of under four seconds. In the top-end Elite variant, that’s

under development, the target is to achieve the same acceleration in under three seconds. The riding range in this variant could be 225 kilometres.

Given that electric mobility is poised to be

the future of the automotive industry, there is interest among entrepreneurs to be part of the future journey. This also helps new players entering the EV fray, like SVM. It has received expressions of interest from over 300 individuals to be dealers. “Around 170 of them are potential candidates with resources and ability to be a dealer,” says Mohan.

SVM’s first customer interface point, an experience centre and dealership, was inaugurated on July 2.

The Prana (‘Grand’ variant) comes with a 4.32 kW Li-ion battery which can be charged in four hours. It has a claimed riding range of 126 kilometres, top speed of 123 kph.



E-MOBILITY

Will Srivaru Motors be a fully Indian enterprise, with a fully localised product portfolio? From the investment point of view, SVM is raising capital from USA and Japan. The primary reason for raising capital from USA and Japan is that investors from these countries have witnessed the start-up to unicorn many times, so the framework for the investment already exists. There are many people in India who have huge wealth but the investment philosophy has been very different. However, SVM will remain an Indian company.

From the manufacturing side, it will be our vision to be able to make all the parts in India. One primary reason is, many parts used in the SVM Prana are multipurpose from the technology side. For example, the motor uses the electronic controller which uses similar electronics components for many other electronics products. That means if we can make our controller in India, the country will have the ability to make many electronics parts. It is a much bigger vision we are progressing. It does take lot of resources to get there. In fact one of our directors, Mr P Raja, heads an electronics semi-conductor company with a vision to setup FAB in India

so we can produce parts necessary for electronics.

As an Indian engineer who has worked for American enterprises, what have been the learnings that you have implemented, and will implement, in Srivaru Motors?The West is generally about scalability, innovation. At SVM, even at our current level, we have full-blown ERP, MRP and eCOM. That gives us a 100 percent process based on the system. So scaling is built in the gene. I closely observed the supply chain mechanism used in the West to scale with partners and my learnings from Tesla from no production to Model S production in the Fremont plant are implemented in SVM.

You can already see that in SVM’s gene. We can know each and every customer who is purchasing our product, not only during purchase but during the lifecycle too. It allows us to use existing social infrastructure to recreate opportunity. Some of these models are bit early stage to disclose.

How many Indian vendors does Srivaru Motors have

currently? What's the localised content currently?There are some easy to localise contents such as tyres and frame which were the low- hanging fruits. However, we have developed many complex parts suppliers who are working on product development for us. For example, harness for the complete vehicle, all-LED lighting system, high power charger connectors. Many more parts suppliers have started their product development which will come to mainstream once the volume hits target limit.

How long do you think it will take to build a Tiruppur-like ecosystem, for the EV industry? Will it be in and around Coimbatore?I think it will take about 5-7 years to build a complete EV ecosystem in India. Coimbatore is poised to lead that because it already has some factories for motors and electronics. It has great weather and social structure to support quality life while being not too crowded like metros. I also believe we need to carry out the overall development in a distributed manner. SVM’s battery facility will be in the southern Tamil Nadu to create more employment there.

INTERVIEW MOHANRAJ RAMASAMY, FOUNDER & CEO, SRIVARU MOTORS

‘I think it will take about 5-7 years to build a complete EV ecosystem in India.’

The extra green factorIn the next five years, SVM plans to have a full product line for the top and medium customer segments. Larger plans include building peripheral services such as charging network, and a ‘service-anywhere-in-India’ model. “Our focus is to create the value for our customers and the society at large while growing SVM. We have plans in place to achieve these goals," says Mohan.

He has a vision for SVM “to lead the modernisation of the personal commute segment”. The larger plan of contributing to a greener India includes a Rs 26,000 incentive for every customer who plants 10 trees before taking delivery of a Prana. The Prana Grand is priced at Rs 225,000. A customer who plants at least 10 trees and provides evidence in the form of photographs, can get it for Rs 199,000.

Building the ecosystemMohan, a computer engineer, who also had a stint of over three-and-half-years at Tesla Motors, is simultaneously working on a larger game-plan with his team, and with

help from the Tamil Nadu government in establishing the business and scaling up. SVM is one of the companies with which the Tamil Nadu government has signed MoUs to build a mega EV industry in the state. The state government launched an EV Policy last year which envisages investment of Rs 50,000 crore to create a comprehensive EV ecosystem in the state. The government believes it will generate employment for up to 150,000 persons. SVM, along with its supplier partners, plans to invest Rs 150 crore in building its ecosystem, over a 10-year period.

SVM’s location could also prove to be advantageous in its localisation efforts. For example, Coimbatore is a strong hub for electric motors. “They can build a motor even in a hut,” says Mohan.

SVM is not the first EV maker in Coimbatore. It’s to be noted that Ampere Vehicles, a pioneer in electric two- and three-wheelers, mainly for semi-urban and rural markets, is based in Coimbatore. In fact, SVM’s manufacturing plant on the outskirts of

Customers can avail of a Rs 26,000 discount by planting 10 trees before taking delivery of a Prana which is priced at Rs 225,000.



E-MOBILITY

Coimbatore is not too far from the Ampere Vehicles plant.

SVM has already invested around Rs 15 crore in setting up the business. Its plant sits in a 2.5-acre plot and can produce up to 6,000 vehicles currently. “We can expand up to three lines on the same place,” says Mohan. He wants to do something similar to Tiruppur, the major textile and knitwear hub, in terms of the necessary ecosystem for localised and highly efficient supply chain. Tiruppur contributes to 90 percent of India’s cotton knit wear exports. Mohan says, “The ecosystem will not only be for our own,” even though SVM may have investments in some of them. SVM’s plans also include having a network of satellite plants in other parts of the country.

Mohan is based in Fremont, California and travels to Coimbatore ever 15 days. A team of 30 engineers are continuously working in Coimbatore to develop the products. Three patents — chassis

design, ease of mode functionality, and active helmet (air circulation) technology — are currently under process. The stints in the Elon Musk-led Tesla Motors, and Lam Research, a USA based semiconductor company, may have helped 43-year-old Mohan to hone his technical skills and also develop leadership skills.

“Some command and control. I build a team who can do the job, and then delegate the work,” he says. The stint at Lam Research, as its leader of global collaboration and communication helped Mohan learn to manage teams across the world.

The engineer-entrepreneur’s vision and plans may be interesting

but without backers he may not be able to realise all successfully. A few senior industry professionals have come on the SVM Board to provide support in various technical and business matters and some backing SVM financially too. Among them are P Raja Manickam, founder and CEO, Tessolve Semiconductor and Ganesh V Iyer, MD, Nio USA and global CIO, Nio are supporting the SVM story. Ganesh V Iyer is also the former CIO of Tesla Motors.

Even as Mohan conceptualised the SVM story in the USA and continues to partly work from there, his vision is to make SVM a truly ‘Make in India, Made by Indians’ story. He wants to leverage the huge engineering talent pool of the country, especially in Southern India, for SVM to achieve success. “Lot of Indian engineers do a lot of work in India, but not necessarily for India,” says Mohan. Companies like SVM are trying to change that. Success of its plans will not only help SVM realise its goal, but it will also fuel India’s vision of building a major indigenous EV industry. n

Customer events in multiple locations having offered test rides helped SVM gain initial interest from “thousands” of prospective customers. Test rides are slated to begin in Bangalore soon.

SVM plans to build a strong EV supply chain in and around Coimbatore, and contribute to Tamil Nadu government’s ambition of building a major EV hub in the state.



E-MOBILITY

The year 2020 will be remembered for a long time and

it’s not just because of the Covid-19 pandemic but also because of the numerous innovations, policy decisions and announcements made by various stakeholders of the global automotive industry. For India Auto Inc though, the new fiscal has started with numerous challenges — transition to BS VI, lockdown-induced loss of demand and Chinese import restrictions, among others.

For the nascent electric

vehicle industry which has, for long, been reliant on imports of critical parts, as well as the lithium cells that are the key ingredients powering EVs, innovation is the only way ahead to empower the industry. EV OEMs the world over are engaged in extending vehicle range, lightweighting products, increasing localisation to reduce costs. They are also scouting for alternatives to lithium cells. Lithium-ion batteries are expensive to produce and lithium as a material per se is turning difficult to source, what

Sodion Energy bets on sodium-ion battery tech to power green vehiclesCoimbatore-based start-up aims to introduce the next generation of green, safe, and high-performance batteries for multiple applications. Sodium-ion battery chemistry is claimed to offer similar performance to lithium-ion, while also being cheaper and safer. Nilesh Wadhwa reports.

l Sodium-ion batteries, while being at a nascent stage of development, are expected to be a cheaper, safer alternative to lithium-ion batteries.

l There are only a handful of companies known globally working on the new chemistry.

l Due to the abundant availability of sodium compared to limited concentrated reserves of lithium, the new chemistry battery is expected to be at least 30 percent cheaper in commercial application.

l Sodium-ion batteries can be discharged to 0V (zero energy). As a result, they are safer than lithium-ion batteries.

l Manufacturing sodium-ion batteries will enable a country to take ownership of its energy security and the energy supply chain, at low cost and low risk.

l Sodium-ion batteries are suited for a host of applications. Early adoption is expected in the stationary storage, electric two- and three- wheeler markets.

FAST FACTS

Sodium-ion batteries, which can be produced in cylindrical, pouch and prismatic format and are easily recyclable, can be a disruptor in the rapidly growing energy storage market as a safe, low-cost and high energy density battery. Sodion Energy plans to launch its battery packs by Q1 CY2021.

EXCLUSIVE

Mobility_Sodium-Ion Batteries -final August 15.indd 32 8/17/2020 3:42:14 PM


E-MOBILITY

Lead-acid Sodium-ion Lithium-ionCost Low Low HighEnergy density 30-50 Wh/kg 100-15 Wh/kg 150-250 Wh/kgLifecycle ~300 cycles ~2000+ cycles ~3000+ cyclesSafety Moderate High LowCut-off voltage 9V 0V 2.5V (all types)Weight Heavy Medium LightMaterial Toxic Abundant LightCycling stability Moderate (high self-discharge) High (negligible self-discharge) High (negligible self-discharge)Efficiency Low (<75%) High (>90%) High (>90%)Temperature range -40°C to 60° Celsius -40°C to 60° Celsius -25°C to 40° CelsiusRemarks Mature technology; fast charging Less mature technology, easy Transportation restrictions at not possible transportation discharged state

HOW BATTERY TYPES STACK UP

with a few major global players and countries like China cornering supplies. So, what if there is a cheaper and abundantly available alternative?

Sodium-ion battery technology, which is claimed to hold as much energy as a lithium-ion battery, bears much potential to be cheaper and can be produced in substantial quantity too.

Now, a new-age start-up in India is betting big on sodium-ion battery technology, which is said to be a safer, energy efficient and cheaper alternative to lithium-ion cells. Tamil Nadu-based Sodion Energy is working on developing sodium-ion-based batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage needs. The company is the brainchild of evangelist Pachayappa Baladhandayuthapani (Bala), former CTO of Coimbatore-based Ampere Vehicles, which produces electric scooters, e-autos and golf karts.

What is the story behind the inception of Sodion Energy? Bala says, “I am a strong believer in electrification (beyond

mobility as well), which is likely to transform the future towards greener and cleaner technology. I expect the electrification opportunity to last for the next three decades and wish to continuously be involved by contributing to and creating as many green technological solutions as possible. This belief and my entrepreneurial drive that has constantly kept me on the lookout for what I can develop next, which will have the most impact. Together with my friends and partners, we have zoomed in to the area of safe and low-cost energy storage technology. We analysed the current and upcoming technologies in this field and discovered that the sodium (Na+) ion Battery (NIB) can be a disruptor and a differentiator in the rapidly growing energy storage market, which led to the birth of Sodion Energy.”

Bala believes that while lithium-ion has been widely commercialised in the EV market, there will always be space for other battery technologies to co-exist. He says

Will you look at setting up your own manufacturing facility or partner other companies?As a lean and agile start-up, we are open and flexible. Initially, we will be making cells through contract manufacturing but in the long run our fundraising efforts do include a plan to set up our own facility to make cells locally in India.

Which markets do you think the sodium-ion battery will see faster adoption?Our first markets will be in the South Asia and South East Asia region, where we will look into all applications needing less than 10Kwh capacity.

How big is the team at Sodion Energy? While Sodion Energy by itself is a small team, we

are able to execute our commercialisation plans very quickly through extensive collaboration with

our network of technology partners. If we include all the members involved, the entire team would comprise of over 150 people.

What will your business model be? We plan to license control electronics and battery chargers to selected battery pack makers, supply the battery cell and provide additional support as needed. However, until we identify the right partners in pack making, we will be selling both pack and cells.

Any additional thoughts you would like to share?NIBs offer a great opportunity to manufacture cells within any country as it doesn’t use cobalt, nickel or other rare materials. Most of the materials can be sourced locally.

‘Initially, we will be making cells through contract manufacturing but we do have a plan to set up our own facility to make cells locally in India.’

sodium-ion batteries are a safe, low-cost and moderate energy density battery which will be the optimal solution for a wide range of applications, especially for the low-

end and low-capacity applications of less than 10kWh. “We are not looking to replace lithium batteries, but rather complement them in different applications.”

INTERVIEW PACHAYAPPA BALADHANDAYUTHAPANI, CEO, SODION ENERGY



E-MOBILITY

IN JUNE 2020, Faradion, the world leader in sodium-ion battery technology, announced a new partnership with Infraprime Logistics Technologies (IPLTech) for its high energy sodium-ion batteries for use in commercial vehicles in the Indian market. IPLTech is a Gurgaon-based heavy goods vehicle fleet service provider that is halving the cost of infrastructure development. It is doing so through an electric fleet complemented by a data layer that organises thousands of small fleet operators.

The news came just a few weeks after Faradion’s first major order from Australia and reflects its entry into one of the most exciting electric vehicle markets in the world.

India has demonstrated a growing appetite for moving towards electric commercial vehicles, driven by the government’s target of 30 percent EV adoption by 2030. It has given a significant push to infrastructure by allocating $1.4 trillion for infrastructure to be invested by 2025. This is higher than the UK ($35 billion)

and the US ($500 billion) in the same period. Each day, 40km of highways are constructed in India and the market for roads and highways is projected to grow at an annual rate of 36 percent from now to 2025. Moreover, the capital city Delhi has just announced an all-encompassing EV policy designed to have 500,000 EVs on its roads by 2024.

Faradion says its sodium-ion technology provides

similar performance to conventional chemistries, while replacing expensive materials such as cobalt and lithium with the far more abundant sodium. Unlike lithium-ion batteries, Faradion’s sodium-ion batteries have exceptional thermal stability and safety. Further, they can be safely transported and maintained at zero volts.

Faradion’s patented zero-volt capability enables the

safe transportation and maintenance of sodium-ion batteries. The wide operating temperature range, high energy density and fast charge/discharge capability combine to offer a next generation, drop-in solution. Its sodium-ion batteries contain no cobalt, no lithium and no copper, resulting in a safe and sustainable, cost-effective, high performance technology

James Quinn, CEO of

Faradion, says India was the next logical region for Faradion, given the market conditions. “Faradion is accelerating large scale industrialisation of its safe, low cost, sodium-ion energy storage technology. The partnership with IPLTech reflects an important milestone in our commitment to the market and the Prime Minister’s Make In India vision, as we also shortly commence manufacturing in India.”

Siddhartha Das, executive chairman, IPLTech, said, “We are driven to minimise the heavy pollution caused by heavy goods vehicles in India. This partnership with Faradion represents a commitment to work with this sodium-ion tech to realise this joint vision.”

“Our full electric mega trucks are the first of their kind to be integrated and deployed in India. We believe that the Faradion technology can provide the Indian market an effective solution at competitive prices” added Das.

Faradion says it has seen significant interest in several markets, including the US, Europe and Australia.

FARADION PARTNERS INDIA’S IPLTECH FOR SODIUM-ION BATTERIES IN COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

30 percent reduction in costWhen one looks at the various battery chemistries available in the market, the electric vehicle and energy storage markets have come a long way from lead-acid to LFP to li-ion batteries, so has the cost. But Sodion Energy plans to change that. “In practical terms, we are offering performance similar to lithium batteries, but at the price point and safety level of lead-acid batteries. The initial version of NIB, which we plan to launch in a few months, can be charged and discharged at 3C rating. This means the battery can be fully

charged or discharged within 20 minutes, and we target to further improve the next version to 5C rating. Even then, due to the cost of electronics, we still recommend 1C or lower charging and 3C discharging profile for normal usage.”

Commenting on the investment made towards setting up the company, Bala says, “Sodion Energy is operating as a lean start-up, leveraging on technology partners in the early phase. In addition to a modest starting capital from the co-founders, we are in the process of fundraising in preparation of future growth. While we are not

A recent Deloitte study estimates that 31.1 million electrified vehicles will be sold per year by 2030.

UK-based Faradion had bagged first order for sodium-ion batteries from ICM Australia.



E-MOBILITY

at liberty to reveal details of our technology partners due to confidentiality agreements, we can say that they have invested more than 12 years of research effort and millions of dollars to bring the technology to its current level. Our technology partners already have patents for their battery chemistry and production process. We will definitely market the cells and battery packs through distribution partners in the EV industry with whom we are in the final stages of talks. Our first batch of 100,000 cells have just got manufactured, and we are working on characterising and developing the packs and getting all necessary compliance certifications. We expect to launch our battery packs by the first quarter of CY2021.”

Sodium is one of the most abundantly available natural resources, particularly in sea water, which means that sodium-ion batteries can be produced in most parts of the world, at far less cost that lithium-ion batteries. The sodium battery chemistry is also free of cobalt and nickel. The chemistry allows for cells to be available in both aqueous and non-aqueous form. The energy density and lifecycle is very close to lithium cells, is almost 30 percent cheaper than LFP (battery chemistry) and has better thermal performance. Interestingly, Bala says the sodium-ion battery does not need high-performance BMS (battery management system), which also translates into cost saving and reduction in time to market. In terms of safety, the chemistry is said to have better safety, storage and transportation characteristics. It can be produced in cylindrical, pouch and prismatic format and is also easily recyclable.

Likely lithium-ion supply-demand problemGlobal demand for EVs is billed to grow sharply. A recent Deloitte study has predicted that a third of all new cars sold globally will be electrified by the end of the decade, citing a radical shift in consumer sentiment. The firm estimates that 31.1 million electrified vehicles will be sold per year by 2030. The peak of petrol and diesel

vehicle sales, it says, is likely to have occurred during the coronavirus pandemic.

Although it expects the global car market not to return to pre-pandemic levels until 2024, electrified vehicle sales, it says, are predicted to reach 2.5 million in 2020. Applying a compound annual growth rate of 29 percent, this should increase to 11.2m in 2025 and 31.1m by 2030. By this point, pure-electric

vehicles will account for some 81 percent of all new EVs sold. This would mean massive demand for lithium-ion batteries, which likely could result in a supply-demand issue.

Will sodium-ion replace lithium-ion? Not in the near future but the technology holds the promise to reducing the EV industry’s reliance on expensive and turning difficult-to-source lithium. While there are a few companies overseas like Faradion of the UK (see panel box) which are working on this new technology, Sodion Energy has outlined its plans. Given the rapid pace of development and progress in sodium-ion batteries, which would typically used in high-energy density applications like long-range EVs and electric commercial vehicles, could the industry be looking at gaining lithium-ion performance at lead-acid battery prices from sodium-ion? Watch this space. n

While Sodion Energy is initially targeting application of its indegiously developed sodium-ion batteries in the electric two- and three-wheeler vehicle segments, ongoing tech development could see it target the commercial and passenger vehicles segments next.

A schematic representation of sodium-ion batteries tech and how it functions.

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ENVIRONMENT


With ever-tightening global regulations

to curb greenhouse gas emissions, electrification has become a vital directive for the automotive industry. Increasing cognizance about the need to reduce dependence on fossil fuels coupled with advancements in technology have translated into a wider acceptance of electric vehicles (EVs).

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), electric cars accounted for 2.6 percent

Will EV batteries save the world or wreck it?Reckless extraction of lithium and other raw materials towards catering for global EV demand will have significant repercussions for society and the environment. Now, the United Nations has cautioned about the environmental impact of EV battery production. Shirish Gandhi reports.

l Primary constituents of lithium ion batteries are lithium, cobalt, manganese, graphite.

l Cobalt extraction in Democratic Republic of Congo has been linked to human rights violations.

l Lithium mining found to be responsible for water, air and soil pollution

l Exponential rise of EVs to need equally substantive growth of the rechargeable battery market.

FAST FACTS

Construction is underway on Lithium Americas’ 40,000 tonnes per annum lithium project in Jujuy, Argentina. It is 50 percent owned by China’s Ganfeng Lithium

Lithium ion high voltage battery, charger, vehicle charging socket.

A lithium ion high voltage battery, charger and vehicle charging socket.

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Environment_EV Batteries AD July 22.indd 36 8/17/2020 10:07:29 AM

ENVIRONMENT


Primary battery raw materials Major reserves in 2018 Major producers in 2018

Lithium Chile (58%), Australia (19%), Australia (60%), Chile

Argentina (14%), China (7%) (19%), China (9%), Argentina (7%)

Cobalt Democratic Republic of Democratic Republic of Congo

Congo (50%), Australia (17%), (66%), Australia (4%), Cuba (4%),

Cuba (7%), Philippines (4%) Russia (4%)

Manganese South Africa (30%), Ukraine (18%), South Africa (30%), Australia

Brazil (15%), Australia (13%) (17%), Gabon (13%), China (10%)

Natural graphite Turkey (31%), China (25%), Brazil China (68%), Brazil (10%), Canada

(24%), Mozambique (6%) (4%), India (4%)

MAJOR GLOBAL SOURCES OF EV BATTERY RAW MATERIALS

of global car sales and one percent of global car stock in 2019. Putting things in perspective, global sales of electric cars (including battery electric as well as plug-in hybrid passenger vehicles) stood at 2.1 million units last year, a six percent increase over 2018 figures which were already at a record high. The global stock of electric cars shot up by 40 percent year-on-year and amounted to 7.2 million units in 2019.

Taking into consideration existing policy frameworks and intentions, the IEA predicts about 140 million alternate energy passenger vehicles to be plying on global roads by 2030 — a phenomenal 20-fold jump over today’s numbers. The exponential rise of EVs will be accompanied by an equally substantive growth of the rechargeable battery market. However, a report (Special Issue on Strategic Battery Raw Materials) by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has highlighted numerous socio-economic and environmental impacts of mining battery raw materials. Unless addressed, these concerns could dent the positioning of EVs as the more responsible form of transportation.

So let’s take a closer look at the primary raw materials of modern EV batteries, their sources and potential consequences of reckless mining practices.

Raw materials of modern-day batteries Contemporary EVs run on lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries which, like any other electrochemical cell, consist of four major components: cathode (positive electrode), anode (negative electrode), electrolyte and separator.

The cathode is generally composed of a lithium ‘metal’ oxide,

with different battery manufacturers using varied chemistries for the ‘metal’ — the most common examples being NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt) and NCA (nickel-cobalt-aluminium). The anode is made of graphite and the electrolyte is an amalgamation of different lithium salts in an organic solvent.

As such, the primary raw materials of Li-ion batteries are lithium, cobalt, manganese and graphite.

Source: US Geological Survey | National Minerals Information Center

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Major sources of raw materials for EV batteriesLithium has, perhaps, become the cornerstone of today's energy storage solutions. According to the US Geological Survey, Chile is home to 58 percent of the world's lithium reserves, with Australia accounting for almost a fifth of the usable deposits. However, when it comes to production, the order gets reversed with Australia taking the lead. Primary sources of lithium include mineral rock deposits and liquid brine reservoirs.

The next most critical element for battery production is cobalt. A majority of cobalt reserves are concentrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo — with 50 percent of the world's reserves, the African country contributes to almost two-thirds of the global cobalt production. Extraction in the region, though, is heavily influenced by foreign entities. For instance, eight of the largest cobalt mines in DRC, which account for half of the global output, are Chinese owned.

Manganese is another element that has recently found prominence due to the usage of NMC cells which is expected to grow from 28 percent of global EV sales in 2018 to 63 percent by 2027, as per the UNCTAD report. By holding almost a third of the global reserves as well as production, South Africa has emerged as a key player in the trade of manganese.

While the rest of the above elements find greater use in the cathode, the anode is generally made from graphite. Eighty percent of global reserves of natural graphite are in Turkey, China and Brazil, though it is China which leads the list of producers with an output equalling nearly 70 percent of the world's supply.

Production and pricing Production of various raw materials used in Li-ion cells has shot up over the past decade, partly due to the spurt in EV sales. The UNCTAD report reveals that the world’s output of lithium trebled between 2010 and 2018, and it is further expected to double by 2022. The same eight year period from 2010 saw the production of cobalt in Congo nearly double. Notably, half of the world's current cobalt supplies and a substantial part of the global lithium production are consumed for the manufacturing of rechargeable batteries for electronic devices and EVs.

In the race towards expanding the footprint of rechargeable battery manufacturing, Asia is emerging as the main hub. Companies from China, Japan and South Korea accounted for an overwhelming 97 percent of the global supply of EV batteries in 2018.

The surging demand for battery raw materials has had a knock on effect on their prices as well. Cobalt prices shot up from $22,650 per tonne

towards the end of 2015 to $92,000 per tonne in May 2018. Prices of lithium metal also skyrocketed from $62,498 per tonne in February 2015 to $145,973 per tonne by mid-2018. However, prices for both elements experienced a substantial decline in 2019 due to an oversupply and a slowdown in demand for EVs last year.

Socio-economic and environmental implications of miningIncreasing mining activities to match the rising demand for battery raw materials can have a

detrimental impact, if not undertaken responsibly. Cobalt extraction, for instance, is a known culprit.

Artisanal mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which account for a fifth of the country’s cobalt production, are infamous for human rights violations. As per the UNCTAD report, these mines employ as many as 40,000 children in hazardous conditions.

Callous handling of materials and wastes at cobalt mines has the potential of contaminating

This is Tesla’s Gigafactory in Nevada, USA. Tesla currently produces more batteries in terms of kWh than all other carmakers combined. Final capacity is planned to be 150 GWh/yr of battery packs. To ramp production to 500,000 cars per year, Tesla alone will require today’s entire worldwide supply of lithium-ion batteries.

From the well to the wheel: A closed loop that ultimately reduces the environmental impact to the greatest possible extent. Volkswagen has set up a pilot recycling facility for lithium-ion batteries at the Volkswagen site in Salzgitter.


ENVIRONMENT


water resources. Moreover, there is also a possibility of other toxic metals occurring in cobalt reserves which calls for further caution. The mines in Southern Congo, for example, have deposits of cobalt, copper and uranium which requires special procedures to be implemented for preventing adverse health consequences from the toxic dust generated during mechanical excavation.

Extraction of the other important battery raw material, lithium, comes with its own set of challenges. For instance, in Chile’s Atacama region, lithium mining from underground brine wells, which consumes 65 percent of the area’s water supply, has not only driven out the local communities, but has also led to environmental degradation by impacting the surrounding soil and water resources. Mining lithium from rocks presents risks as well, since the dust generated can lead to severe respiratory conditions.

Graphite is yet another raw material

whose production poses significant environmental implications in the form of air pollution and soil contamination.

Aiming for sustainability To minimise ecological impacts at the very base of the rechargeable battery value chain, mining practices need to be centered on the idea of sustainability. Leveraging technologically advanced processes, stringent controls need to be exercised to reduce or eliminate the impact on the environment as well as local communities.

Research into new and improved battery chemistries needs to continue to alleviate dependence on critical raw materials. For instance, there are ongoing efforts to reduce cobalt content in lithium-ion cells. Scientists are working on supplementing graphite in anodes with silicon which is a much more widely available element. Work is also being done to improve energy content of batteries which will help reduce the amount of raw materials required in the first place

Though EVs might be pitched as a silver bullet to the transport sector’s pollution woes, industry has still to optimise battery energy levels as well as develop a recycling strategy.

and bring down costs as well.

Another factor that would ultimately determine the sustainability of lithium-ion cells is recycling. As the quantity of spent EV batteries increases, recovering and reusing metals has the potential to not only minimise waste which would otherwise contribute to land and water pollution, but also reduce the requirement for fresh raw materials. However, the biggest impediments to the recycling industry are significant capital investments and the challenge of separating

elements from highly complex batteries structures which, in part, can be solved with batteries being designed from the onset with recycling in mind.

By now, it is evident that though electrification might be pitched as a silver bullet to the transport sector’s pollution woes, there are a few issues that still need to be ironed out. EV batteries need to pack in more energy, charging times need to come down and EVs need to get a whole lot more economical for mass-scale adoption to happen, particularly in markets like India. Further still, renewable energy sources and sustainable manufacturing techniques are required to minimise the environmental impact. Having a holistic view of the entire EV ecosystem will, therefore, form the basis of realising the full potential of electric mobility. n

RESEARCHERS AT THE Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD), Department of Atomic Energy, government of India, have found potential lithium reserves in the Mandya district, Karnataka, about 100km from Bangalore. The discovery is significant since the reserve is being touted as the country's single largest source of lithium, an element that is increasingly finding applications in battery technology used in electric vehicles.

The element has been found in the form of a lithium aluminium silicate mineral called spodumene present in an igneous rock

occurring over a 0.5km x 5km area in Mandya, according to a research paper by the AMD scientists.

The report states that AMD had identified spodumene in this area in 1989 and subsequent mineral exploration carried out by the body over the next three decades has established the region as the single largest rare-metal source in the country. The research paper concluded saying that concerted efforts since 2013 have further proven a large potential of lithium resources in the area.

Moving forward, if the said reserves can be commercialised, then the

implications on the Indian automotive industry’s electric mobility efforts could be immense. A significant share of the cost of a pure electric vehicle comes from the battery, of which 65 percent can be attributed to raw materials such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, aluminium and manganese.

Currently, battery packs are either entirely imported

or simply assembled in India, with the cells being brought in from markets like China. This has the propensity to drive up costs and effectively price EVs out of their respective segments.

According to data presented by the Ministry of Science and Technology in a parliamentary session earlier this year, the cost of lithium batteries imported by India during the financial years of 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 (up to end-November 2019) stands at US$ 383.80 million (Rs 2,748 crore), US$ 727.24 million (Rs 5,208 crore), US$

1.25 billion (Rs 8,952 crore) and US$ 929.26 million (Rs 6,654 crore), respectively. Indigenous lithium reserves could allow domestic manufacturing of cells and bring down battery costs, thereby providing a boost to electric mobility in the country.

A few automakers in India have been contemplating some form of local battery production for some time now. Japanese companies Suzuki, Toshiba and Denso are already in the process of setting up a dedicated plant in Gujarat under a joint venture. The Tata Group is also trying to enter the space by leveraging the expertise of subsidiary Tata Chemicals.

30 SECONDS ON . . . POTENTIAL LITHIUM RESERVE FIND IN KARNATAKA TO ACCELERATE INDIA'S EV AMBITION

As the quantity of spent EV batteries increases, recovering and reusing metals has the potential to not only minimise waste, but also reduce the requirement for fresh raw materials

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INDUSTRY

Pollution continues to be a key concern for India. Even as

India leapfrogged to BS VI emission norms in April this year and skipped BS V, the question is have we done enough to improve air quality? In view of the predominant share of petrol vehicles including two-wheelers, there is a school of thought that insists that emission norms for petrol/CNG vehicles need to be further tightened by 2025 to address the issue of nano particles. Industry experts though feel that legislation needs to be technology-agnostic and regulation has to be fuel-neutral for long-term benefits. This was the crux of the conversation at the webinar organised by The Centre for Auto Policy & Research (CAPR) on ‘Bharat Stage VI Emission Norms — 2025: the next tightening?’ on August 6

The panel of eminent industry speakers included:l NR Raje, former director, IOCL R&D Centre and former member, EPCA & EAC MOEFl CV Raman, senior executive director (Engineering) Maruti

Suzuki Indial Dr Adolfo Perujo, scientific / technical project manager, JRC European Commission, Italyl Rashmi Urdhwareshe, former director, ARAI and president designate, SAE Indial Garima Sharma, Central Pollution Control Board, government of India

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Experts urge tech-agnostic, fuel-neutral emission roadmap Speaking at a webinar on the need for further tightening of emission norms in India by 2025, industry veterans make a case for sustainable long-term goals. Sumana Sarkar highlights the salient points.

Hormazd Sorabjee, editor, Autocar India, moderated this key industry event for which Autocar Professional was the media partner.

The emission conundrumNR Raje, former director, Indian Oil R&D Centre and former member, EPCA & EAC MOEF, kicked off the

discussion with a reference to series of studies by IIT Kanpur, indicating a direct link of PM 2.5 on respiratory/heart diseases. He pointed out that, “There is enough evidence now that gasoline and CNG vehicles contribute substantially towards PM 2.5 matter. We should now focus on tightening of emission norms for

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petrol and CNG vehicles, for not just direct injection engines but also for PFI engines. So we need tighter norms in this regard.”

At this point, CV Raman, senior executive director (Engineering), Maruti Suzuki India, highlighted that, “The PM 2.5 contribution by vehicles a matter of concern. There has been huge reduction in tailpipe emission post BS VI — 62 percent reduction in vehicle pollution, 48 percent reduction after BS VI, expect another 10 percent reduction by 2030 with greater EV adoption. But the extent of ultra-fine particles is still quite high in DPF diesel vehicles. Light duty gasoline and CNG come across as relatively low emission alternatives.”

According to Raman, “Customer transition to BS VI technology will have to happen to reap the benefits of the technology shift. Covid has slowed down the transition. We need to prioritise the shift.”

The question is how? Raman feels, “Fleet renewal programs will accelerate this transition to a cleaner environment. From a PV perspective, 18 percent de-growth has happened. India is a small car market. Mobility is an important need for India. Affordable transportation a key area of focus. From a policy perspective, we

need to look at the end result. Legislation needs to be technology agnostic and focus should be what is needed for India.”

Getting a handle on real emissionsDr Adolfo Perujo, Scientific / Technical Project Manager, JRC European Commission, Italy concurred with Raman's view. He said, “We have realised that there is a clear need to simplify and harmonise legislation for emission. Emission on the road did not improve to the same extent as the ones in the lab. Two-wheelers are a heavy source of emission, especially particulate matter.”

The European Green Deals includes key action towards sustainable and smart mobility. He pointed out that there is a “proposal for more stringent air pollutant emission standards for combustion engine vehicles by 2021. However, compliance is needed throughout the lifetime of the vehicles under all condition of use; emphasis needs to be on road performance. Pollutant emissions need to be considered along with CO2/GHG emission. There is a greater need to look at these non-regulated emissions.”

NR Raje reiterated the concept when he asserted that, “Regulation needs

to be technology- and fuel-neutral.” Putting in the manufacturer’s perspective in this context, Raman pointed out that deciding on a 10-year or 15-year timeline for a vehicle would not address this concern of curbing real emissions. He urged that, “Inspection and maintenance mechanism for vehicles is an important aspect. There is need to sift through the safety and emission levels of used vehicles and the number of centres that the government has set up are not adequate given the current scale.”

Need to look at segment-specific needsSpeaking in this context, Rashmi Urdhwareshe, former director of ARAI and president designate, SAE India said that the “emission control target is crucial. We need to limit the carbon dioxide emission. NOx reduction via BS VI will reduce CO2 emission. Real driving emissions will be controlled via BS VI. That is the larger benefit of BS VI.” She foresees “huge potential for India over the next five years with a clear roadmap charted out. The real driving emission is a crucial aspect to address, in context of India specific challenges.”

Given the amount of investments in R&D linked

with future requirement, Urdhwareshe sees a growing need to be mindful to break down the emission roadmap as per sectoral requirements.” She expects the focus to shift to public transportation.

Short-term solutions vs long-term goalsSpeaking on the future of air quality and how emission norms can be tightened constructively, Garima Sharma, Central Pollution Control Board, government of India, said, “The target is to improve air quality and reduce emission levels. Modernisation of fleet is very important, need to keep an eye on the long-term goals. It is important that we take into consideration the short-term solution along with long-term goals for a sustainable future.”

So the question is how exactly should India chart the emission regulation roadmap? Hormazd Sorabjee, editor, Autocar India, brought out the essence of the discussion with his concluding remarks: "Europe began its emissions regime well but so did India, getting to BS VI in record time. India needs to focus on tech-agnostic solutions, a practical time-frame and a scrappage policy with context to emission targets and roadmap."n

NR Raje: “Regulation needs to be tech- and fuel-neutral. Inspection and maintenance is an important aspect. There is a need to sift through the safety and emission levels.”

CV Raman: “From a policy perspective, we need to look at the end result. Legislation needs to be technology agnostic and focus should be what is needed for India.”

Dr Adolfo Perujo: “Compliance is needed throughout the lifetime of the vehicles under all condition of use. The emphasis needs to be on road performance.”

Rashmi Urdhwareshe: “There's huge potential for India over the next five years with a clear roadmap charted out. The real driving emissions (RDE) is a crucial aspect to address.”

Garima Sharma: “The target is to improve air quality and reduce emission levels. Modernisation of fleet is very important. We need to keep an eye on the long-term goals.”

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INDUSTRY

As India is slowly adjusting to the new normal amidst

the Covid-19 pandemic, businesses are also gradually adapting to the new challenges. But the question is how well are we using this adversity into an opportunity? Tamil Nadu’s nodal investment promotion agency, Guidance TN in partnership with SIAM conducted a webinar on the theme of ‘Post Covid: Automotive industry turning crisis into an opportunity’ on August 6, which saw participation from key representatives of major OEMs. The panellists included:l Dr Neeraj Mittal, MD and CEO, Guidance TN

l Tarun Garg, Director - Sales and Marketing, Hyundai Motor Indial Satyakam Arya, MD & CEO, Daimler India Commercial Vehiclesl Kaleeshwaran Arunachalam, CFO, Royal Enfieldl Aneesh Sekhar, IAS, Executive Director, Guidance TNl Yukihiko Tada, Director, India Yamaha Motorl K N Radhakrishnan, Director and CEO, TVS Motor Col Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM.

Autocar Professional was the media partner for the event and PWC India's Kavan Mukhtyar moderated the webinar.

Tamil Nadu, which recently announced its EV policy, has targetted investment of around Rs 50,000 crore and generation of 1.5 million jobs.

Tamil Nadu remains high on the automotive investment chartDespite recent slowdown and Covid-induced challenges, the state has seen a steady inflow of investment worth Rs 30,664 crore, of which 11 percent or Rs 3,500 crore is from automotive. Sricharan R reports on the opportunities and the potential employment that it can generate.

Brisk investment pipelineDespite the pandemic and lockdown, Tamil Nadu has received Rs 30,664 crore of investment of

which Rs 3,500 crore — or 11.14 percent — is from the automotive segment. Leading global OEMs and suppliers including Daimler India Commercial

Dr Neeraj Mittal, MD and CEO: Guidance TN: "We are coming up with a 300-acre park especially for EVs. Tamil Nadu is going to show the way for investment in EVs."

Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM: "Despite the growth, we see low penetration compared to other parts of the world. This brings a lot of potential to grow."

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Vehicles, BYD and Visteon have signed MoUs for their expansion plans in India. This makes for a great outlook for the State, according to Dr Neeraj Mittal, MD and CEO, Guidance TN.

“Due to the pandemic, globally we see a lot of changes in customer preference which is being driven by climate change and supply chain. These changes bring us new opportunities and challenges. The state government has established an expert committee to come out of the pandemic in a phased manner. Also, we are responding to the emerging supply chain reorientation and announce packages that are relocating to the state,” said Mittal.

Mittal remains optimistic about growth: “We also believe that there will be an increase in two- and four-wheelers in the short and medium-term. Also, there is a lot of awareness for people about the environment and we see interest in EVs and manufacturing them in Tamil Nadu.”

Tamil Nadu, which aims to become paperless and have a contactless system, already has a single-window portal system where industry can avail up to 36 services. This is set to be increased to 200 services by May 2021.

state. Overall, Tamil Nadu is going to show the way for investment in EVs.”

Digital, the way forwardSpeaking about how digitisation plays a major role, Tarun Garg, director (Sales and Marketing), Hyundai Motor India, said: “Our online enquiries are contributing to 25 percent of the total enquiries. We can surely say that digital is the way forward. However, customers still want the touch and feel of a vehicle because it is a bit of an emotional aspect in India.”

Hyundai, like some other carmakers in India, is benefitting from the digital drive. Even as the Covid outbreak happened in India, the Korean carmaker went ahead with its new product launches and got 110 million netizens to view the events online. What’s more, demand for Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets is growing, indicative of the considerable potential in these regions.

“It provides us with a lot of opportunities to rethink. We have to be agile and much more customer-centric now. Even after the pandemic, we will continue with some of our digital drives. We are optimistic about the recovery here in India. Also, the rural market is

contributing to a lot of growth in digitalisation,” he said.

Daimler India CV to expand operationsOn May 28, 2020, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) signed an MoU with Tamil Nadu, covering Rs 2,277 crore of new investment designed to expand production of CVs at its plant in Oragadam in Chennai. This investment also represents an addition of 400 jobs. The plant currently has a manufacturing capacity of 72,000 trucks and 4,000 buses per annum.According to Satyakam Arya, MD and CEO, DICV, “We see a lot of comparison between India and China. But when we look at the output of manufacturing, China has an output of 4 trillion dollars, which is 30 percent of the world share. India is at 400 billion dollars. We are talking about a difference of 10:1. In the automotive segment too, we witness the same difference. India has to learn from China and Japan to emerge as an alternative.”

Sharing his thoughts on Tamil Nadu’s industrial policy, Arya said that the state needs to look at the ease of doing business and the ease of starting a business. He also suggested

Tarun Garg, director (Sales and Marketing), Hyundai Motor India: "Even after the pandemic, we will continue with some of our digital initiatives and we are optimistic about the recovery here in India."

Satyakam Arya, MD and CEO, DICV: "Tamil Nadu needs to look at the ease of doing business and the ease of starting a business. There can also be incentives for exports."

“As far as EVs are concerned, the state recently announced the EV policy and intends to bring around Rs 50,000 crore of investment and 1.5 million jobs. The policy covers both demand and supply side incentives. We are focusing on incentives like 100 percent GST reimbursement for vehicles and up to 15 percent capital subsidy for components like EV cells, motors, battery management system and powertrains,” revealed Mittal.

He sounded upbeat about the future, “We are coming up with a 300-acre park especially for EVs and many companies have evinced interest to invest in the



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incentives for exports and asked the state government to look at including services in its policy. “There is a large pool of engineering talent and infrastructure here. This will provide great service to the world. It will also develop upskilling, innovation and R&D,” said Arya.

Advantage two-wheelersKaleeshwaran Arunachalam, CFO, Royal Enfield, highlighted that India has an excellent opportunity to grow and digitisation is facilitating it. “We see how digitisation is helping us and we are also witnessing huge growth in online enquiries. It is up to us on how we convert the digital enquiries to sales. Going forward, industries will invest a large part of on data transformation. Also, the investment will happen on three Cs – capacity, capability, continuity.”

According to Yukihiko Tada, Director, India

Yamaha, “The two-wheeler market has been continuously growing. The last few quarters were hard times but we believe it will grow again after Covid. This is mainly because of the need for personal mobility. Electric two-wheelers will have scope but as of now IC-engined two-wheelers have a lot of benefits. A few consumers

will switch to EVs maybe in 10 years, but a major part will remain in ICE.”

KN Radhakrishnan, director and CEO, TVS Motor Co, stated that Covid is helping the company understand and get used to the new normal. While this is a challenge, it is also an opportunity in India. “With people getting more evolved, there are quite a

lot of changes underway in consumer behaviour. People will prefer two-wheelers because of the worry of social distancing. The concept of shared mobility will take a back seat for now.”

Low vehicle penetration an opportunityThe current and prolonged industry slowdown since the past five quarters is the result of higher acquisition cost, liquidity crisis with NBFCs, the axle load norms in CVs and other reasons. But Rajesh Menon, director general, SIAM, sees it as an opportunity despite the tough times. “Around 81 percent of our volume is in two-wheelers, 14 percent is PVs and 3 percent each in CVs and three-wheelers. Despite the large growth, we see low penetration compared to other parts of the world. In PVs, it is about 25 vehicles per 1,000 people and two-wheelers it is 143 per 1,000 people. This brings a lot of potential to grow,” said Menon.

“SIAM’s prediction for FY2021 is an overall sales decline of 26 to 45 percent across various segments. We are going back many years in terms of volumes across the segments. However, now with the industry slowly recovering, things may look better,” he signed off on an optimistic note. n

Kaleeshwaran Arunachalam, CFO, Royal Enfield: "Going forward, industries will invest a lot on data transformation. Also, investment will happen on three Cs — capacity, capability, continuity."

Dr Aneesh Sekhar, Executive Director – Guidance TN: "Despite challenges in the automobile industry, we can overcome this by realigning the supply chains and adapting to the new normal."

Yukihiko Tada, Director, India Yamaha: "We believe two-wheelers will grow again after Covid. Electric two-wheelers will have scope but as of now IC-engined two-wheelers have a lot of benefits."

KN Radhakrishnan, director and CEO, TVS Motor Co: "People will prefer two-wheelers because of the worry of social distancing. The concept of shared mobility will take a back seat for now."

Prolonged slowdown in the auto industry has impacted CV sales along with other factors like axle load norms and BS VI shift.

In India, around 81 percent of the total vehicle volume comprising two-wheelers. This segment, alongwith UVs is leading the revival.

The slowdown has pushed India Auto Inc back by many years in terms of volumes; SIAM expects 26-45% degrowth in FY2021.

Despite the huge volume of two-wheeler sales, penetration is just 143 vehicles per 1,000 people, indicating huge growth potential.



COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

Running a commercial vehicle is all about winning

the battle with operating costs. Lower the operating cost, more the profit. Longer the running time, more the profit. Like aircraft, the more a CV is plying on the road, the more it can deliver profit in spades. The principle is the same for all CV operators, with a single, more or multiple vehicles.

Fleet operators in India and worldwide are always on the lookout for new solutions, measures and techniques to reduce costs because of the hundreds of thousands of kilometres their vehicle traverse, transporting all kinds of goods, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.

Compared to the developed world, logistics costs in India are possibly the highest

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Transport of cargo by road is nearly 60 percent of total freight movement in India. Keeping the fuel prices in mind, this brings huge burden to the fleet owners.

CV manufacturers use telematics to optimise operational costs As commercial vehicle operators look to reduce operating costs in a time of expensive diesel, OEMs are doing their bit by using telematics to boost fleet productivity, monitor safety, increase service levels and overall efficiency. Sricharan R reports.

and almost half of the operating costs of trucks and buses are accounted for by are accounted for by fuel — which is costly. At present diesel is priced at Rs 80 a litre approximately. A medium or heavy commercial vehicle typically tanks up on 300-odd litres of fuel. Do the math — that’s Rs 24,000 approximately in fuel alone, which is why a fleet operator is always

on the lookout for higher fuel efficiency and more mileage per litre. Low asset utilisation or limited hours that trucks and buses run every day also another key reason for high operational costs in India.

Thanks to GST coming into play from July 2017 improved road infrastructure and electronic tolls across the country, trucks in India are today able to travel

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TELEMATICS

l Low asset utilisation or limited hours that trucks and buses run every day is a key reason for high operational costs in India. OEMs are using the latest telematics tools to enable CV owners and fleet operators to improve fuel economy, keep an eye on driving patterns and in turn enhance profitability.

l VECV has Eicher LIVE which promises three key benefits– fuel-efficient operations, superior uptime and enhanced logistical efficiency in e-commerce and passenger safety in buses.

l Ashok Leyland’S DigitALNxt combines three digital solutions (i-Alert, AL Cares and Uptime Solution Centre) to help customers to manage their business with a simple tap.

l DICV’s uses its Truckonnect telematics system to give information about truck performance to its customers. This helps them to plan operations efficiently and increase truck uptime.

l Mahindra Truck and Bus’ iMAXX is an advanced vehicle health management solution that deploys cutting-edge telemetry such as Dual CAN, 4G and digital tech for insight on vehicle health and performance.

CV MAKERS WALK THE TELEMATICS TALK

an average of 350km a day, up from the 150-180km in pre-GST days. Transport of cargo by road, it is estimated, accounts for nearly 60 percent of total freight movement in India. So, any benefits to fleet operators can have a percolating effect. This is where the new industry dynamic — telematics — drives in.

While most cars in India have more or less turned into computers on wheels with very high levels of in-vehicle connectivity and telematics, the technology has yet to go mainstream in commercial vehicles. However, the shift to BS VI emission norms in April this year has provided the push, what with BS VI trucks being able to ply more and thereby improve their fuel efficiency gains. CV OEMs are also looking to stretch the connectivity envelope to include data management, monitoring of fuel efficiency and driving style, among other things.

Eicher takes connectivity real-time in its CVsOn July 22, VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV) announced the launch of Eicher LIVE, a comprehensive trucking solution aimed at maximising customer profitability and productivity. With this, the company claims to have become the first

and sole CV player in India to introduce 100 percent connected trucks and buses equipped with an advanced telematics solution.

According to VECV, Eicher LIVE will significantly improve uptime and logistics efficiency, hence the revenue-earning potential for customers. Being constantly connected, CV owners will be able to maximise the potential of earning and saving, while also improving service levels.

The fully connected Eicher trucks and buses come with a host of intelligent features that will enable a three key benefits for the customer — fuel-efficient operations, superior uptime enabled

by the industry-first Eicher Uptime Centre support, and segment-specific benefits such as enhanced logistical efficiency in e-commerce and passenger safety in buses.

Eicher’s advanced telematics system is fully integrated with the vehicle’s electronics and is engineered as an integral part of it. With the new emissions era of BS VI, the telematics system leverages the several sensors fitted in the vehicle and converts the large amounts of data to enable deeper insights, thereby creating a unique value proposition for customers. On one end, it is connected to the CAN, the electronics backbone of the truck and hence has access to vehicle data generated by sensors, ECUs and any exceptions through fault codes. On the other side, it’s connected with Eicher’s support solutions such as Uptime

Centre, Fuel Management services and segment-specific solutions.

Commenting on the new engagement with connectivity in its products, Vinod Aggarwal, MD and CEO, VECV said, “The unique proposition of connected vehicles is a significant step towards modernising the CV industry. Starting with Eicher LIVE, then the uptime centre and now with 100 percent connected vehicles, we are closing the loop on providing a connected ecosystem for tomorrow, which is driven by the BS VI wave. These offerings will not only reduce the operational cost by maximising fuel efficiency but will also increase revenue through improved asset utilisation with superior uptime. It will also offer better safety and logistical efficiency to our partners and customers.”

Eicher’s advanced telematics system is fully integrated with the vehicle’s electronics and is engineered as an integral part of it.

VE Commercial Vehicles claims that Eicher LIVE will significantly improve uptime and logistics efficiency,

Vinod Aggarwal, MD and CEO, VECV: "These offerings will not only reduce the operational cost by maximising fuel efficiency but will also increase revenue through improved asset utilisation with superior uptime."

CVs_Connectivity- Final August 15.indd 47 8/17/2020 2:23:11 PM


TELEMATICS

On expanding the technology across the entire vehicle range, he added: “Large fleet customers who have high demands of fuel efficiency, safety and driving behaviour as critical elements will be able to maximise their productivity and profitability. This technology will not only benefit the big logistics players but also the last mile vehicles as effectively.”

Ashok Leyland AVTR: high on electronicsIn June, Ashok Leyland announced its modular range of BS VI vehicles — AVTR. The new range of BSVI vehicles has a high level of electronics which helps improve vehicle performance. However, while connected solutions and telematics were also present in BS IV vehicles, what difference does it now hold in the new BS VI CVs?

Ashok Leyland announced expansion of its range of digital solutions with DigitALNxt which is a combination of three digital solutions, i-Alert, AL Cares and Uptime Solution Centre. These solutions will help customers to manage their business with a simple tap, by making it simpler for them to log on to their business from anywhere. The i-Alert 3.0 telematics solutions is the company's latest refined and enhanced application that accommodates the technical complexities of BS-VI, offering a simplified way to monitor vital vehicle information.

AL Cares is an all-in-one digital solution to take care of end-to-end business needs. And the Uptime Solution Centre offers AI-driven prognostics that helps detect potential issues well in advance. It also offers real-time analysis of vehicle

parameters to enable quick support. Built on the foundation of Big Data and Cloud tech, this centre is supported by nine cornerstone applications and technologies namely iALERT, real-time ECU errors, visual analytics, VC 2.0 connected diagnostics application, ECU Flashing Over the Air (FOTA), live remote diagnostics, scheduled diagnostics, e-diagnostics and sensorisation.

Vipin Sondhi, MD and CEO, Ashok Leyland, said, “We have invested in creating these digital solutions to enhance customer efficiency, performance, and profitability through various means of anytime, anywhere support for their vehicles. This will ensure that the customer enjoys the highest uptime with our vehicles."

Speaking to Autocar Professional, Venkatesh Natarajan, Chief Digital Officer, said, “Ashok Leyland opened its telematics division in 2005. We slowly moved from just a location-based service to monitoring vehicle health. Around 42 different parameters were monitored including battery voltage, oil level,

coolant temperature and the position of the accelerator. With BS VI, this has become more sophisticated and there's more electronics predominantly in the emission after-treatment system. We capture plenty more data for over 120 data parameters. BS IV tracking was predominantly from the engine. With BS VI, it is not just the engine but also body control units, emission control and more.”

Ashok Leyland soon developed the i-Alert platform which helps customers in vehicle tracking, fleet management, fuel management, geofencing and driver management. The commercial vehicle manufacturer has an uptime solutions centre at Vellivoyalchavadi; this facility and its personnel track all the vehicles that are connected through its

solutions.

Mahindra’s connected solutionsMahindra & Mahindra too is riding the wave of higher level of embedded electronics contents in its CVs. With increased electronic control coming on major aggregates, it becomes possible for truckmakers to use advanced connected vehicle technology to monitor and control vehicle performance and health remotely. It was in the BS IV era itself, that M&M launched its Blazo range of HCV trucks equipped with DiGiSense.

As far back as August 2016, M&M launched DiGiSense, a technology solution that aims to provide CV owners, fleet operators, drivers, dealers and service teams with detailed information about their vehicles on a real-time basis. This

The company recently launched its i-Alert 3.0 offering a simplified and intuitive approach to monitor vital vehicle information.

Ashok Leyland’s new range of BS VI trucks are equipped with high level of electronics helping the vehicles to perform better.

Venkatesh Natarajan, Chief Digital Officer, Ashok Leyland: "We capture data from around 120 parameters in the BS VI trucks including engine, body control units, emission control units and more."



COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

data comprises vehicle location, history of vehicle travel, and also an optimal route plan to reduce idling and saving of fuel. Furthermore, it can also diagnose potential engine problems remotely and cut down breakdowns. There is also an emergency alert button to guide the vehicle driver/owner to the nearest service station.

Commenting on the latest developments at M&M’s CV division, Veejay Nakra, CEO Automotive Division, M&M, said: “With BS VI, our vehicles in India are at a stage where the level of electronics used in engine control management and after-treatment control is unprecedented in commercial vehicles. We understand the importance of connected vehicle technology especially with the increase in electronics control on vehicles in the BSVI era and our unique brand promise of service

guarantees. Hence for BS VI, we went back to our drawing boards to develop the next generation connected vehicle solution — iMAXX — which is an advanced form of vehicle health management solution that deploys cutting-edge telemetry such as Dual CAN, 4G and digital technologies like machine learning and AI to provide powerful insights on vehicle health and performance. It is in a different league to normal fleet telematics solutions provided in the market which focus mainly on location tracking-based services.”

Mahindra’s Blazo X (HCV), Furio (ICV) and Jayo (LCV) range of trucks and Cruzio and Cruzio Grander range of buses, in BSVI, come with standard fitment and a free subscription offer with iMAXX. With the AIS-140 regulation coming into force, the company has seen an increase in

adoption for the telematics technology in CVs. This regulation is key in driving adoption rates, as every truck must carry an active GPS device.

Speaking about the efficiency enhancements the new trucks give due to the growing telematics and connected vehicle technology, Kalra said, “With the right telematics platform, efficiency enhancement in fleet

operations leading to higher asset

productivity/fleet utilisation, lower cost of operation and higher fleet safety, are guaranteed.

The extent of enhancement is

dependent on the base level of efficiency or inefficiency existing in the fleet operation, before the deployment of fleet telematics technology. As per our experience, we have seen success stories of fleet owners achieving upwards of 10 percent fuel economy improvement across their fleet and/or achieving even 100 percent asset productivity improvement in terms of kilometres driven per vehicle per day by taking actions on the insights provided by the fleet telematics platform.”

He added, “Mahindra’s iMAXX solution is revolutionary in two aspects. One, it is the core capability on the device front that enables us to

take huge amounts of the engine and allied system and location data securely and efficiently over the 4G airwaves for further processing. Secondly, it is on the machine learning algorithms put in place at the platform level to provide accurate, reliable and effective business impact insights. Such level of technology and data processing is unprecedented in the Indian CV industry and it is going to revolutionise the way fleet telematics solution is being presently used in India for vehicle productivity and cost of operations control.”

Though there is potential growth in the electronics content, most of its components are being imported from global markets. The Indian supply chain has a tough job to maintain the growing needs of the OEMs. Also with this increased level of electronics content in CVs, there is going to be a price hike. According to the CEO, the Indian supply chain is very capable of delivering electronics components as well as solutions to the CV industry.

“The issue is the economy of scale and attaining critical mass in production. Given the government's thrust on self-reliance and “Make in India”, it is possible to be indigenous. And, in terms of price hike, the reduction in operational costs and consequent increase in savings and higher earnings far surpass the additional cost,” he said.

Daimler India CV: Highly tuned engineBharatBenz, the truck and bus brand of made-in-India Daimler CVs, is also high on connectivity and electronics. According to Pradeep Kumar Thimmaiyan,Head of Product Engineering, Daimler India Commercial

Veejay Nakra, CEO, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra: "For BS VI, we went back to our drawing boards to develop the next-generation connected vehicle solution called iMAXX."



TELEMATICS

Vehicles (DICV), “BS VI migration has increased the electronics content in the truck. The number of sensors has more than doubled compared to BS IV, plus other electronically controlled systems help to meet the BS VI emission norm without compromising on performance and other parameters. On the other hand, DICV’s telematics system integrates seamlessly with BS VI architecture to offer advanced information to our customers for planning maintenance and service.”

Though the high level of electronics content adds CV costs, he pointed out that the use of electronics helps them to be more precise in tuning the engine and the after-treatment system performance, optimised for overachieving emission targets and at the same time offer better TCO and lesser maintenance cost to their customers. It also plays a major part in using different driving modes by switching automatically between them to select the optimal mode to deliver the best efficiency keeping the emission on check.

“The electronics also help to integrate into our Truckonnect system to route messages and warnings real-time to our customers, thereby helping with advanced planning of maintenance and service. We offer a module called ‘Peace of Mind’ module with our telematics system leveraging the electronics used in BS VI,” he mentioned.

What is helping DICV is that the cost is being optimised to a large extent by developing local competencies for design and manufacturing of these components. “Production cost may not increase when this change is handled smartly. For example, the operational

cost of trucks will reduce as these electronics help to improve operating efficiencies using our Truckonnect system,” he pointed out.

DICV uses its telematics system to give information about truck performance to its customers. This helps them to plan their operations efficiently, thereby helping increase truck uptime. The company’s control centre located in Oragadam plant is constantly monitoring the messages and warnings from these trucks, which help to plan for proactive actions.

“Our Truckonnect dashboards will offer information about fleet efficiency that will help to reduce the operating costs for our customers. Better use of telematics/connectivity for route planning will result in reducing inventory on wheels and increase truck utilisation for our customers. Connected vehicle technology such as our Truckonnect telematics solution will play a major role in efficient route planning in future. However, to improve the congestion in Indian cities, it is very important to develop an integrated traffic management system which integrates infrastructure with connected vehicles,” said Thimmaiyan.

Also, connected vehicle technology will play a very important role in the implementation of upcoming recall law in the country, according to Thimmaiyan. But, will the Indian supply chain be capable of delivering electronics components/solutions used in the CV industry? DICV has long been an example of the success of ‘Make in India’ with its ratio of over 30 percent exports to less than 10 percent imports. By combining collaborative design and development, quality, and cost-competitiveness, the company has ensured close to 90 percent localisation for its medium and heavy-duty truck platforms.

Thimmaiyan said, “The current BS VI technology and upcoming regulations offer a huge opportunity to Indian supply chains for developing and strengthening design and manufacturing

competencies for electronic components and solutions. This is an important area to focus on to increase local competency, footprint.”

Making tech talkIt’s a difficult time for the CV industry, what with sales at a record low in Q1 FY2021. But sell vehicles it has to and with wafer-thin margins across the industry, the only way OEMs can lure the new truck and bus buyer is through enabling customer profitability. Which is why engineers and executives at CV OEMs are putting their shoulder to the technology wheel to come up with solutions that that control costs and boost revenue. The new tools of the trade are telematics and data management that connect the truck and bus drive to the back office, which in turn monitors work flow. India is changing and how. n

Pradeep Kumar Thimmaiyan, Head, Product Engineering, Daimler India CV: "The current BSVI technology and upcoming regulations offer a huge opportunity to Indian supply chains."



BY INVITATION BY INVITATION

ONE WOULD THINK that bicycles are an essential first step towards mobility and that there would be plenty of them in India. However, our records show that we as a country have badly let down people who could and should have been mobile.

Bicycle data shows that in the year 2000, we had a total of 4.8 million two-wheelers and 10 million cycles. In 2017, the numbers jumped eight times to 31.2 million two-wheelers, but correspondingly number of bicycles manufactured increased to only 16 million. As per the latest data available, in 2018 India had 43 million cars, 235 million two-wheelers and 110 million bicycles on road.

Do you realise that there are two hundred million workers who have to work locally at whatever wages that they are given just because they cannot move out of their villages? Provide them with bicycles and within 30 days they get to work at a new workplace with emoluments (higher by 30-50 percent) and more choice. This is the effect of mobility.

The spectrum of mobility in India has always had

CAN THE HUMBLE BICYCLE HELP THE MEGA AUTO INDUSTRY?

Jagdish Khattar, former bureaucrat and ex-MD of Maruti Suzuki.

Decline in bicycle ownership due to rising income, affordability of motorised vehicles and absence of safe cycling infrastructure.

Share of bicycle-owning households has increased by 1% between 2001-2011; up 3.4% in rural areas, down 4.1% in urban regions.

According to TERI Analysis, it is estimated that if bicycles were to substitute the two- and four-wheelersused for short-distance trips, it can result in an annual benefit of Rs180,000 crore — which isequivalent to 1.6 percent of India’s annual GDP for 2015–2016.

income levels on either extremes which is not the case with most of the Western world where the extremities are more functional like commuting, leisure, fitness, family transport. The best case in point is the association of poor and rich with the bicycle and a car respectively. Sadly this attitude translates over the roads as well where the richer vehicle is assumed to have a right of way over the poorer vehicle Not just roads, over the years it has translated to the ease of acquisition of the vehicle where financing could easily be available for purchasing cars and two wheelers but not for bicycles. As a result a very unnatural vehicle ownership pyramid formed in India where the bottom of the pyramid is not the largest (as it should be

column Jagdish Khattar- final August 15.indd 52 8/17/2020 10:29:56 AM

GUEST COLUMN


GUEST COLUMN

corresponding to the largest low income group ) but the middle of the pyramid with motorcycles being the largest reflected in the data given .

This happened because of neglect of the bottom strata. Whoever could afford to buy a bicycle with cash did so but the remaining population forming the lowest part of this bottom could not find means of financing their purchase of a cycle. On the other, hand the middle class could easily finance the purchase of a motorcycle or scooter thus not leaving a lacuna like it did at the bottom of the pyramid .

Over decades since India’s independence, the upward mobility continued to take place with first-time bicycle users graduating up to motorcycles and possibly to cars but the extreme bottom of this segment could never catch up and move upwards. This gap has remained to date. To our collective shame!

What though is not realised, visibly, is that this gap also affects the growth of the automotive sector since this bottom of the pyramid is the breeding ground for future customers of two-wheelers and cars. The movement happens over a generation or two and hence it is easy to overlook it as your future customer base. Henry Ford famously offered a higher-than-average salary to his workers so that they could afford to buy the very cars that they were assembling by hand. We require that kind of vision in the automotive industry today where we learn to look past the short- to mid-term trends and work toward building up a sustainable consumer base. The growth in the automotive sector could actually leapfrog a couple of generations if we take a microscopic look at how the bottom of the pyramid economies work and how the whiplash of their upward mobility directly hits the automatic growth, possibly sending it flying upwards (or in a tailspin if continued to be ignored).

The low-income economies experience exponentially high rise in income with marginal interventions like access to a bicycle. This increases their access to a larger geographic area and thus more opportunities of work, which in turn creates a more competitive labour market in that region and increases the average wages earned. This also addresses the problem of lack of work during lean periods of farming and other seasonal labour work

by access to alternative opportunities.Not just that, even socially upward mobility takes

place with education of the girl child, who with the bicycle, can travel to schools afar safely and on time. The Mukhyamantri Balika Cycle Yojana from Bihar has been tremendously successful and emulated by several other states in India.

Within a generation educated females help their families with additional income, better household income management and propagate the spread of education to the future generations.

All of these converge towards them becoming a more participative consumer with higher disposable incomes, a share of which inevitably comes to the automotive industry as mobility will always remain a basic human need.

In conclusion, yes, one is aware that India is not one homogeneous country. There are many layers and issues to address. But essentially if we take care of the base population, we can eventually add to the numbers in the other segments. In short, if you put in the work to sharpen the steel, it will eventually turn into needles.n

Two-wheelers have played a key role in the increasing ownership of private vehicles; as per 2016 MORTH data, they account for 75 percent of the total registered vehicle fleet in the country.

July 2020 two-wheeler sales numbers indicate that despite the 10-15 percent price increase in products due to the shift to BS VI, consumers are going ahead with their purchase decisions.

Increasing two-wheeler and car ownnership led to registered motor vehicles in India growing at a CAGR of 9.9 percent, from 89 millionvehicles in 2006 to 230 million in 2016 (as per latest MORTH data).

column Jagdish Khattar- final August 15.indd 53 8/17/2020 8:40:51 AM


BY INVITATION BY INVITATION

THE BIRTH OF India’s oil industry dates back to 1901 when the country’s, and Asia’s first refinery, was set up in Digboi, Assam by Assam Oil Company. At the time of India’s independence, there were three oil companies — Esso, Burmah Shell and Caltex — operating. All three were nationalised during 1974-76 and Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation were born.

India, the world’s third largest consumer of crude oil, after the United States and China, accounted for 4.8 percent of the global oil consumption in 2016-17. India’s estimated total consumption of crude oil rose from 160.77 MMT in 2008-09 to 251.93 MMT in 2017-18, a CAGR of 4.59 percent. In 2017-18, oil marketing companies produced 145 MMT (2017-18) of diesel and petrol, of which about 70 percent diesel and 95 percent petrol were consumed by vehicles (62 percent by two-wheelers, 34 percent by cars)

India imports about 80 percent of its petroleum oil needs; the aim is to reduce this to about 67 percent by 2022 by increasing local exploration, use of bio-fuels, ethanol, electric vehicles and conservation measures including fuel economy regulations for passenger cars, commercial vehicles and two-wheelers through a star labelling programme.

As a result of there not being any established mechanism for regular interaction between the oil and automobile industries, a lack of coordination resulted in a delay in rollout of emission norms in India. The progression of fuel specifications in India has mirrored the progression of vehicle emission regulations in the country.

While India has followed Europe for fuel specifications, it has deviated on parameters which do not have a direct impact on vehicle emissions, like diesel flash point and gasoline octane number, citing economic reasons although the diesel flash point is important from a safety consideration and gasoline octane number for the fuel economy angle. Also, OMCs have often not implemented uniform fuel specification across India due to socio-economic reasons in North Eastern refineries.

The first major change in fuel specification happened with the reduction of sulphur content in diesel, from 10000 to 2500 ppm in the year 2000 with the nationwide introduction of Bharat Stage I (BS I). This was further reduced to 500 ppm in 2005 (BS II), 350 ppm in 2010, 50 ppm in 2018 and to10 ppm from April 2020 when BS VI norms kicked in. Petrol sulphur content level also followed a similar path though the values varied from diesel. However, from this year onwards, the same is also restricted to 10 ppm. Lead was removed from petrol in 1998/99 in Delhi to facilitate the use of catalytic converters as mandated by the courts. The same was implemented across the country in 2005 when BS II was mandated. In tandem, benzene, a carcinogen content in petrol, was also reduced from 5 percent (2005) to 1 percent in 2010. There is a requirement to control the evaporative emissions at the petrol filling points at retail outlets.

It is imperative that the oil and auto industries work

EVOLUTION OF THE OIL SECTOR IN INDIABy K K Gandhi, Convener, Centre for Auto Policy and Research

together with common business plans so that fuel specifications and vehicle technologies are introduced simultaneously to combat the rising pollution in our cities and vehicle emissions are minimised further. There is also a need for multi-fuel dispensing at retail outlets so that customer can choose vehicles running on clean fuels. n

India imports about 80 percent of its petroleum oil needs. The aim is to reduce this to about 67 percent by 2022.

ABOUT THE AUTHORK K Gandhi is Convener, Centre for Auto Policy and Research, ex-Executive Director (Technical), SIAM, and a former scientist at the Indian Institute of Petroleum. The views expressed in the column are the author’s own.

column KK Gandhi - Final August 15.indd 54 8/17/2020 2:24:36 PM

Deepak Chopra Anand Group’s CEO on scouting for acquisition opportunities amidst the ongoing slowdown Page 29

BRAND FINDER

professional1 November 2019 www.autocarpro.in

Essential reading for the Automotive industryVol. 15 No. 22 Total pages: 72

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Mumbai start-up Liger Mobility and its co-founders have developed a proprietary self-balancing technology that makes two-wheelers safer and also opens a new dimension for industry in India Page 42

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CNG gains speedwith clean air drive Government, energy majors and industry in new plan to accelerate CNG use Page 32

SPOTLIGHT ITALY’S UFI FILTERS OPENS ITS FIRST AFTERMARKET-ONLY PLANT IN INDIA PAGE 20

STRATEGY

INDUSTRY

R&D SPECIAL

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Having quit scootering 12 years ago to focus on motorcycles, a strategy which has paid dividends in India and abroad, Bajaj Auto brings back brand Chetak albeit in an all-electric avatar Page 10

Bajaj enters EV biz with Chetak scooter

Brand Recall Industry doyen and Bajaj Auto chairman Rahul Bajaj reminisces on the Chetak — one of India’s legendary automotive brands Page 14

FLASHBACK

IN FOCUS

eTrio: facilitating the

shift from ICE to EVs

through retro fitment

Page 48

IIT grads develop self-balancing two-wheeler

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