International Women’s Day: ‘Charging infra, upfront price barriers are challenges before EV market’

International Women’s Day: ‘Charging infra, upfront price barriers are challenges before EV market’

Please share your experience of leading a business group?
I belong to a family of entrepreneurs and a family, which has a legacy of providing mobility to the masses in India. At the heart of every enterprise the Firodia family has started is a desire to bring advanced technology to India. But we bring it within the reach of the common man through innovative products such as Kinetic Luna, Kinetic Honda and many others such as Matador, etc.

I have always been inspired by this vision. After pursuing my MBA in Finance from US, I joined Kinetic Engineering in 1998. My grandfather and father have created a legacy, which I am fortunate to inherit. I have imbibed hard work, sincerity and dedication from my father, who is still the first to arrive at office and last to leave! I strongly believe that hard work and commitment are the hallmark of successful people. Seeing an opportunity when not many others believe in it is often the beginning of a successful business. Secondly, there is no magic formula for business success. If you accept that it is going to be a long journey with unpredictable challenges that you will have to be perseverant to overcome, you will be able to endure through the hard times.

So, in short, I believe that being driven by a purpose is the most satisfying part of leading a business and staying committed to your cause through adversities is paramount to success. As they say, an overnight success story also takes 15 years!

What are the challenges that India as a country will have to face for mass adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and what is the way ahead for India?
The EV market is gaining momentum in India and not too far in the future, we see an enormous change in the way people and cargo move. Encouraging green mobility is at the heart of the government’s efforts to tackle climate change.

The major challenges that India is currently facing for mass adoption of EVs is charging infrastructure and certain upfront price barriers to EV technology. To remove these challenges, Kinetic Green is collaborating with other technology providers and charging infrastructure companies and working towards innovative solutions to overcome the above barriers.

Recently, we partnered with BPCL to provide nationwide battery swapping technologies across. I believe that battery swapping technology will revolutionise the use of electric three-wheelers in India. It is suitable for three-wheelers due to their route predictability so that swapping stations can be put up in popular areas and more importantly, removing battery drastically reduces the upfront cost of ownership by taking away 50 per cent of the vehicle price.

How would purchasing power of people impact the EV market in India?
The answer to this lies in focus and innovation. First of all, the Indian Government has rightly focused on electrification on 3W, 2W and buses to bring ‘green mobility to the masses’ rather than focusing on electric cars, which are meant for a small fraction of society. With this clear focus, several innovative solutions are emerging to be able to bring EVs within the reach of the common man. Some of them are battery swapping, which reduces upfront cost of EVs drastically as mentioned above, battery leasing. which also brings great affordability, fast charging infrastructure creation.

Finally, with more banks and NBFCs coming forward to finance EVs, they are reaching the masses faster. EVs are more affordable than ICE or engine vehicles if you compare their ‘total cost of ownership’, means upfront price plus running cost of fuel and maintenance even today; and with above innovative ways to reduce their upfront cost, their appeal and penetration will increase rapidly.

For Kinetic Green, which segment would majorly drive the growth in EVs?
In India, the adoption of EVs will happen first in the 2-wheeler and 3-wheeler segments. There is a reason for this: Two and three wheelers are meant for intra-city movement. Thus, requirement of range is lower than for cars or trucks. Vehicles are also smaller or fall under light mobility requiring less speed and smaller size of overall power train system. Given the intra-city use, it is easier to create a charging or battery swapping network as the same would only be required within cities, and not on highways. Also, 90 per cent of Indians move on two-wheelers, three-wheelers and in buses and it is the masses who are cost conscious who will certainly show preference for lower cost of transport per km that EVs offer.

Kinetic Green, a leading player in electric three-wheeler segment, will indeed drive major growth in this segment.

What would you suggest to the generation next of our country?
‘Be relentless in your pursuit’. The way to succeed your business idea is to align it with the social needs of the country in order to benefit people at large. I think armed with education, driven by conviction and implemented with hard work, you can succeed in any industry.

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