Race to the Future

It is no secret that electric cars are all the rage, globally. From an upstart EV company becoming the most valuable automotive company in the world to people’s rightful enthusiasm for a cleaner future, electric cars are on the minds of motorists around the world. However, while everyone is talking about EVs, is the picture very different on the streets and are several countries indeed seeing a slower transition? We sit down (virtually, of course), and speak with industry captains, Raman C V, Senior Director (Engineering), Maruti Suzuki India Limited, Ramesh Dorairajan, Head, Sales, Marketing and Customer Care, Electric Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors and Sandeep Bangia, Head, EV, HA & ESCO Business, Tata Power, to get an idea about how things stand in the real world. Here’s a look at what they think about the future of EVs in our country. We start by asking the trio when and how, realistically speaking, will India’s mass-market shift towards EVs happen? Maruti Suzuki’s Raman is quick to point out that India is a very unique market where the average price of a car is in the range of INR 6-6.5 lakh. This combined with range anxiety, and the lack of charging infrastructure,