Page 88 - Electric Vehicles

June sees e-two-wheeler registrations fall sharply across all players

Drop 60% over May record of 105,348 units

TN working on improving EV charging infrastructure: Minister TRB Rajaa

Tamil Nadu is engaged in improving the electric vehicle charging infrastructure aimed at accelerating the adoption of EVs in the state, Minister for Industries T R B Rajaa has said. To boost EV consumption, the government also amended a policy thereby allowing battery-operated e-autorickshaws, e-taxis and e-buses to be issued permits by the transport department without a permit fee. Earlier, permits were not being issued to battery operated passenger vehicles and those vehicles that run on methanol or ethanol fuel. In 2018, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had issued a notification that battery operated passenger vehicles and passenger vehicles driven on methanol or ethanol fuel were exempted from obtaining a permit. The latest move by the Tamil Nadu government comes in the backdrop of a meeting on June 16 held in the city with the Minister for Industries Rajaa, who was apprised by the members of the electric vehicle industry about this issue. Accordingly, the governmen

Tamil Nadu amends policy to enable registration of e-autorickshaws, e-taxis

Earlier, permits were not being issued to battery-operated passenger vehicles and passenger vehicles driven on methanol or ethanol fuel

RACEnergy inaugurates 10,000 sq ft battery production facility in T'gana

RACEnergy, a Hyderabad-based deep-tech electric vehicle infrastructure company for battery swapping, has inaugurated its new 10,000 square feet battery production facility here. The facility inaugurated on Wednesday is equipped with a 50 MWh battery production plant, which can manufacture 30,000 batteries per annum, the company said in a release. This milestone aligns with RACEnergy's goal of targeting 80,000 two and three-wheelers by 2025, representing a significant step towards their target of having 2,50,000 swappable batteries in circulation in the same timeframe, it said. The new facility will provide a collaborative environment for engineers and designers to push the boundaries of innovation, further developing cutting-edge battery technology for electric vehicles (EVs) and significantly expanding the company's production capacity, it said. "The launch of our new facility marks a significant milestone in our journey to revolutionise the electric mobility sector and will cater

Delhi govt's EV transition targets may cause significant disruptions: IAMAI

Earlier this week over 1,500 cab drivers conveyed their concerns about the financial implications of the scheme in a letter to Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot

BYD India partners Bajaj Finance for dealer finance, vehicle loans

Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD's subsidiary BYD India has signed an initial pact with Bajaj Finance for access to finance to its dealers and customers in the country, the company said on Wednesday. The strategic partnership aims to provide comprehensive vehicle financing solutions to BYD dealers and customers across India, fostering the widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country, BYD India said. "The partnership with Bajaj Finance is aimed at offering our customers and dealers access to a diverse range of financing solutions. We understand the vital role they play in our business, and this new alliance allows us to provide support to our customer base, said Sanjay Gopalakrishnan, Sr Vice President - Electric Passenger Vehicle Business - BYD India. Electric vehicles have seen a surge in popularity in recent years and BYD has been a major player in this space. Auto financing market has begun to shift with customers expecting hassle-free access to credit, said ..

Threatened by shortages, EV makers race for lithium supplies for batteries

Threatened by possible shortages of lithium for electric car batteries, automakers are racing to lock in supplies of the once-obscure white gold in a politically and environmentally fraught competition from China to Nevada to Chile. General Motors Co. and the parent company of China's BYD Auto Ltd. went straight to the source and bought stakes in lithium miners, a rare step in an industry that relies on outside vendors for copper and other raw materials. Others are investing in lithium refining or ventures to recycle the silvery-white metal from used batteries. A shortfall in lithium supplies would be an obstacle for government and industry plans to ramp up sales to tens of millions of electric vehicles a year. It is fueling political conflict over resources and complaints about the environmental cost of extracting them. "We already have that risk of not being able to get enough, said GM's chief financial officer, Paul A. Jacobson, at a Deutsche Bank conference in mid-June. We've g

Ford cutting several hundred jobs to reduce cost amid transition to EVs

Ford Motor Co. is going through another round of white-collar job cuts as the company continues to reduce costs amid a transition to electric vehicles. The company confirmed on Tuesday that it was starting to notify several hundred engineers and other salaried employees that their jobs are being eliminated. The firings come after around 200 Ford contract employees were let go last week. Spokesman T.R. Reid wouldn't give a specific number of Ford jobs that are being cut this week, but said they are not nearly the scale of those made last summer when the company let go of 3,000 white-collar workers and another 1,000 contractors largely in the US. Most of the cuts were in engineering, but all business units will see job cuts, Reid said. Teams that were affected were pulled together yesterday to let them know that there would be actions taken this week. Then individual people will be notified today and tomorrow, Reid said. CEO Jim Farley has said much of Ford's workforce doesn't have

Third edition of electric vehicle innovation challenge by iCreate launched

The third edition of the iCreate's electric vehicle innovation challenge -- EVangelise 23 -- was launched here on Tuesday to identify and nurture startups, which can help solve real-life challenges of the EV ecosystem by providing indigenous solutions. This time, the focus is to identify startups which can develop EV components for four-wheelers, heavy-duty mining and construction vehicles like mining trucks, earthmovers and crawler drill machines, said iCreate CEO Avinash Punekar. iCreate, or International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Technology, is a state-government-supported innovation-based startup incubator having its campus near the city. "The aim of EVangelise 23 is to identify and nurture game-changing innovations, which can help solve real-life challenges in our EV eco-system. One of the main challenges is our dependence on foreign technology and components for all classes of electric vehicles," Punekar told PTI ahead of the launch event here on Tuesday. Thanks to the

Electric 2-wheeler industry to keep growing at robust pace: TVS Motor

Domestic electric two-wheeler industry will continue to grow at a robust pace with active policy support from central and state governments while also emerging as a major hub for exports, according to TVS Motor Company. The company on its part would expand its electric portfolio to cater to different sets of customers. It currently sells electric two-wheelers under the iQUBE brand. "The EV industry will continue to grow rapidly as the consumer interest is buttressed with active policy support from the Central and State Governments through PLI, FAME II and State-specific support policies," TVS Motor Company stated in its Annual Report for 2022-23. Continued support will ensure a smooth lift-off for the industry volumes, it added. "Like in ICE (internal combustion engine) two-wheelers, India will emerge as a major hub for EV two-wheeler exports in addition to the large domestic market," TVS Motor noted. Interestingly, the government has reduced the subsidy provided under FAME-II (Fa

Delhi EV capital with highest number of electric vehicles: CM Kejriwal

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said Delhi has become the country's EV capital with the highest number of electric vehicles being bought in the city. Speaking at the inauguration of 42 charging stations, Kejriwal also claimed that pollution levels in the national capital have declined since 2014. "We started promoting EVs to curb pollution and keeping in mind that they are the future. We framed a policy in 2020 for EVs and set a target that, by 2025, one-fourth of all vehicles bought in Delhi will be electric," Kejriwal said. The Delhi EV Policy was launched in August 2020 with the aim of establishing the city as the country's EV capital and accelerating the pace of EV adoption across vehicle segments, especially in the mass category of two-wheelers, public and shared vehicles and goods carriers. "...I am happy to share that 13 per cent of all the vehicles bought in Delhi are electric ones. Since August 2020, 1.28 lakh electric vehicles have been bought in Delhi," he furt

EV firm Oben raises Rs 40 cr in pre-Series A, will start deliveries in July

EV startup Oben Electric on Tuesday said it has raised Rs 40 crore in an extended pre-series A round and also announced it will start delivering its electric motorcycle Rorr to customers in Bengaluru from next month. The company has so far secured a total funding of Rs 88 crore, including Rs 72 crore (both in equity and debt) in the pre-Series A round, Oben said in a statement. The capital infusion will help the company in scaling up its production capacity at the Bengaluru facility to 100,000 units per year as well as meet the working capital requirements for distribution expansion, it said. The Bengaluru-based EV startup which has a distribution network across major cities in the country, plans to meet the demand of 21,000 pre-orders by scaling up its manufacturing capacity, the company said. The funding round attracted both Institutional investors such as Stride Ventures and Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), along with new investors including Mumbai Angels and

Arkam Ventures launches second fund with a target corpus of $180 mn

Through the fund, the firm will make investments in Series A and Series B start-ups, with a focus on emerging sectors like electric vehicles and manufacturing technology

Tata Power partners with Le Roi Hotels to install 16 EV charging stations

Tata Power on Monday said it will install EV charging infrastructure at various hotel locations of Le Roi Hotels and Resorts across India. In a statement, Tata Power said it has "partnered with Le Roi Hotels and Resorts to install EV charging stations across their hotels at various locations in the country, in a collaborative effort to promote green mobility and enhance the sustainability of tourist destinations". Tata Power will install 16 chargers spread across 8 locations. There will be a balanced distribution of 8 fast DC (CCS-II) chargers and 8 AC (Type II) chargers, offering a comprehensive range of charging solutions for electric vehicle owners. The locations include Udaipur, Digha, Haridwar, Jammu, Tehri, Raipur, Corbett and Koti. "We aim to empower both residents and travellers to wholeheartedly embrace electric mobility with utmost confidence, creating a seamless and convenient experience for all," Virendra Goyal, Head of Business Development (EV Charging) at Tata Power,

Epsilon to establish EV battery component factory in US, sets aside $650 mn

Mumbai-based Epsilon will generate more than 1,500 direct and indirect jobs at this new facility. The facility is expected to be commissioned by 2026

Orxa Energies inaugurates new facility ahead of electric bike launch

The announcement comes ahead of the launch of Mantis, the company's flagship electric performance motorcycle. It is expected to be available for bookings by the end of this year

Punjab announces Rs 300 cr incentive to promote use of electric vehicles

Punjab's transport minister Laljit Singh Bhullar has said the state government will provide incentives worth around Rs 300 crore in the next three years to promote the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and reduce pollution. These incentives will be provided on electric two-wheelers, e-cycles, e-rickshaws, e-autos and electric light commercial vehicles. He directed the officials of the transport department to write a letter to the finance department for creating a dedicated EV fund to facilitate initiatives for the adoption of the EVs in the state. He was presiding over a meeting of the state level EV committee, which has been set up for the implementation of the Electric Vehicle Policy-2023, here on Wednesday. According to an official statement, Bhullar took details of the responsibilities entrusted to various departments concerning the implementation of the EV policy and asked officials to ensure speedy implementation. Bhullar instructed the Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd a

Aether Industries hits record high; rallies 10% on fund raising via QIP

Aether Industries on Monday, June 19, launched a QIP issue to raise up to Rs 750 crore and fixed the floor price of the issue at Rs 984.90 per share.

Day 1 of PM Modi's US trip: From EVs to space; here's what was discussed

Apart from Elon Musk, PM Modi met Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Robert Thurman, and Neil deGrasse Tyson, among others on the first day of his US trip

Matter Motor Works partners with Airtel Business for its AERA motorbikes

Airtel IoT to power 300,000 Matter Aera, India's first geared electric motorbike