With the increasing global concerns about air pollution and climate change, electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming more and more popular.
According to a Statista report, by March 2023, India had seen an impressive growth in the adoption of electric vehicles, surpassing a surprising 2.3 million in number. Notably, the majority of these vehicles were two and three-wheelers, with each category alone exceeding 1.1 million vehicles.
The recently announced budget has generated high hopes for the EV market. In this blog, we will explore whether these expectations have been met. Additionally, we will dive deep into electric vehicle monitoring and analyze the potential impact of the budget on this aspect.
The Union Budget and Electric Vehicles (EVs)
One of the best things about the budget for the EV business is that import taxes on important minerals like copper, lithium, and cobalt have been reduced.
EV batteries need these minerals to work, and lowering import taxes is expected to make batteries much cheaper. The Ministry of Heavy Industries said in a report that the price of EV batteries could go down by as much as 20%.
Making electric cars more affordable and available to a wider group of people is a big step forward. This could speed up the rate at which EVs are adopted.
According to the report published in the Economic Times, about 22 million electric two-wheelers will be sold in the market by the end of the fiscal year 2031.
Meanwhile, the projected battery demand in FY 2031 varies from 1.28 GWh in the Challenged Diffusion Scenario to 114.25 GWh in the Optimistic Scenario.
However, there were also some negative aspects to the budget. The Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) India plan used to offer EV subsidies for two-wheelers. This program will end on July 31, 2024.
A subsidy of up to ₹10,000 per electric two-wheeler was given through this scheme, which helped boost sales greatly. There isn’t a clear plan to replace this scheme, which is bad for the EV business, especially for the two-wheeler segment, which has been a big part of India’s EV market growth.
Another area of concern is the lack of GST relief on electric vehicles. The lower import taxes are a good thing, but the high GST rate that being applied to EV parts, like batteries, makes them more expensive overall.
This has a big effect because most of the batteries used in EVs sold in India are made in China and Korea, which makes them much more expensive. Cutting down on GST could have made EVs more affordable and increased demand.
Electric Vehicle Monitoring
On the other hand, electric vehicle monitoring is an important part of this environment. It includes several technologies that track of different parts of how well and how often EVs are used.
Monitoring an Electric Vehicle is very important to make sure it is safe and efficient, and gives you the best overall EV experience.
It checks things like battery health, range prediction, charging infrastructure use, and vehicle location.
Additionally, the information gathered from monitoring electric vehicles is very helpful for lawmakers and infrastructure builders in making smart choices.
The recent union budget, Budget 2024, has generated significant interest among the EV industry and consumers alike. While the budget has brought some positive developments for electric vehicles, it also leaves room for improvement in certain areas.
The Need for Electric Vehicle Monitoring
Electric vehicle monitoring is essential for the successful and sustainable growth of the EV ecosystem. It uses a mix of hardware and software to gather and analyze information about different parts of how EVs work and are used. Some important parts of electric vehicle monitoring are:
Battery health monitoring: Monitoring the health of the battery means keeping an eye on its performance, state of charge, and remaining life so that charging and range can be optimized.
Range prediction: Providing correct estimates of a vehicle’s range based on things like the weather, driving conditions, and battery level.
Charging infrastructure usage tracking: keeping an eye on charging station availability, usage rates, and charging trends to get the most out of building infrastructure.
Live location tracking: This lets you keep an eye on your vehicles for safety, fleet management, and to stop theft.
The information gathered through electric vehicle monitoring can be used to enhance vehicle safety, improve battery management, and create new services related to EVs.
Budgetary Opportunities for Electric Vehicle Monitoring
With the budget’s focus on building up EV infrastructure, there are a lot of chances for electric vehicle monitoring systems to be added.
Policymakers can get useful information about charging patterns, high demand times, and charger performance by adding monitoring features to the charging infrastructure. This information can help with planning and investing in infrastructure in the future.
The charging infrastructure is the biggest problem right now for EV usage in India. Public charging sites that are either dedicated to electric vehicles (EVs) or regular gas stations with EV chargers are the best places to do it, but there aren’t that many of them in most states.
The Indian government has taken a number of steps to deal with these problems and encourage the production of EVs and batteries in India.
According to the Press Information Bureau (PIB), two Production Linked Incentives (PLI) schemes estimate costs for making advanced automotive technology products and increasing battery production in India. These schemes are worth about 260 billion rupees and 180 billion rupees, respectively.
A lower GST rate and no-permit requirements for EVs are two other small policies that have been put in place to encourage people to buy and use EVs.
Conclusion
The Budget 2024 has been a mixed bag for the EV industry in India. While it’s encouraging that import duties on essential minerals have been reduced, it’s disappointing that two-wheeler subsidies have been cut and that GST relief has not been granted.
On the other hand, environmental concerns and technological progress are still good reasons for more people in India to buy electric vehicles.
The future of electric vehicles in India will be greatly influenced by electric vehicle monitoring. Electric vehicle monitoring can aid in accelerating the transition to a greener and more sustainable transportation environment by providing important information about EV performance, usage trends, and infrastructure needs.
