₹16,000 crore of capex needed for EV charging infrastructure by 2030, Ficci says | Mint

The electric vehicle (EV) charging industry estimates it will need capital expenditure (capex) of ₹16,000 crore for public charging infrastructure to meet the needs of the rapidly growing EV sector, a report by industry body Ficci said.

This is the amount of capex needed to achieve the goal of more than 30% electrification by 2030, said the report, ‘FICCI EV Public Charging Infrastructure Roadmap 2030’, published on 16 December. The charging industry has proposed prioritising roads in 40 cities and 20 highways for such infrastructure, it added.

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The report, based on the opinions of more than 25 stakeholders and industry experts, highlights the need for investment in public charging infrastructure as the EV adoption rises in India. Other types of EV charging stations, such as home charging stations, are inconvenient because of space constraints, Ficci said in the report.

Shortlists

The industry body analysed vehicle sales data to shortlist 40 cities with the highest adoption of electric two- and four-wheelers each. About half of this investment will be in 31 cities that are on both lists, the report said.

The addition of public charging infrastructure will also help electric buses and other electric four-wheelers recharge mid-journey, as most trips in these vehicles are over 100 kilometres, the report added.

Investments in public charging infrastructure would also reduce range anxiety, which deters some people from buying EVs, Ficci said. It would also align with the government’s PM E-drive scheme, which had a ₹2,000-crore outlay for charging infrastructure, and more than ₹4,000 crore for electrification of buses.

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The present model of government incentives on the demand and supple side has put the wheels of EV adoption in motion, with subsidy schemes such as PM E-drive, as well as production-linked incentives for automobiles and auto components (PLI-Auto) and for advanced chemistry cells (PLI-ACC) aiding consumers and manufacturers, the report said.

Ficci estimated that by 2030, 45-48% of all two-wheelers, 16-20% of all four-wheelers, and 30-35% of all buses would be electric. This conveys the potential demand for public charging infrastructure in the coming year, as only 3-5% of two-wheelers, 1-3% of four-wheelers, and 5-8% of buses are electric in 2024, it added.

The growth of the EV sector depends on government incentives, raw materials for battery production, new models from manufacturers, charging infrastructure and cost parity between EVs and internal-combustion-engine (ICE) vehicles, the report said. Of these, charging infrastructure and cost parity are the most critical challenges, it said.

Running costs

The issue of EVs being more expensive to run than ICE vehicles is gradually being remedied, the report said. It showed that the total cost per kilometer of operating electric two- and three-wheeler fleets was already lower than that of ICE vehicles. ICE two-wheeler fleets cost ₹2.87 per kilometre today, while EV two-wheelers cost ₹1.55 per kilometre. The cost of operating ICE three-wheelers is almost twice that of electric three-wheelers, the report said.

The challenge, however, is to reduce the running costs of electric four-wheelers. It currently costs ₹15.62 per kilometre to run an electric four-wheeler, compared to ₹14.25 per kilometre for an ICE four-wheeler, the report said.

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