No 2030 deadline for electric-mobility: Union Minister Gete

The Centre Thursday sought to allay fears of auto industry over electrification of mobility, saying it never set a deadline of 2030 for achieving 100 per cent electric-mobility and there was no need to hurry.

No developed country had achieved even 30 per cent electric mobility. "We need not hurry, but we have to work towards achieving maximum electric mobility," Union Minister for Heavy Industry and Public Sector Enterprises Ananth G Geete said.

Addressing the 3rd "Catalyst Conference" on growth in E-Vehicle industry here, he said the talk of 100 per cent electric-mobility by 2030 created unrest in the auto industry.

"Auto industry has made maximum investment by any sector in India. We need to take them along to make any vision successful and there is no need to panic. But we have to keep in mind that electric-mobility is the future and have to work towards that" he said.

He said the government did not want to substitute import of crude oil with import of batteries as today most of lithium ion batteries were imported from China. "We need to make batteries in India," he added.

The minister emphasised that the consumer should get good quality vehicles at an affordable price and not just cheap vehicles.

He assured the auto industry of all cooperation from his ministry, according to a statement by the organisers of the conference.

The event was attended by more than 250 people including policy makers, automotive OEMs, automotive component manufacturers, suppliers, academia, test agencies, technology companies and Media, the organisers said.

The major Automotive OEMs present were TKML, Mahindra Electric, Volvo India, TATA Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Hero Moto Corp and TVS.

The conference was a preliminary event for the 3-Day EV Expo South 2018, which begins here Friday.

Dinesh Tyagi, Director, International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT), said this was the 3rd edition of 'Catylyst conference on the growth of e-mobility' and the 1st in Bengaluru.

The idea of organising the conference here was to increase focus on e-vehicles in South India, specially to promote e-rickshaws which was a proven mode of sustainable mobility in its most humble form, he said.

EV Expo South 2018 is the 1st edition in Bengaluru and 7th overall eco-friendly Electric Vehicle Expo being organised by Altius Auto Solutions in India. Earlier editions have been organised at New Delhi and Kolkata.

EV Expo South by ICAT offers comprehensive market information, great business opportunities and a platform for networking to the professionals and entrepreneurs of the EV industry in Southern India, the organisers said.