In 2 years, India will be world leader in electric vehicles: Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari

Union Transport Minister of India Nitin Gadkari in a statement said that the centre is planning to shift public transport and logistics to 100% electric vehicles a few weeks ago. Now in an interview with CNBC, Nitin Gadkari said that India will become a world leader in electric vehicles in the next two years.

Nitin Gadkari gave a roadmap of India becoming a world leader too. Gadkari said that India is currently importing crude oil worth 7 to 8 lakh crores rupees every year. The government is planning to reduce imports and bring in cost-effective solutions.

Also read: India”s first Maruti Baleno with “air suspension” looks gorgeous (Video)

The transport ministry of India will first bring 100% electrification to the public transportation and logistical solutions in the country. It will include heavy vehicles that transport goods too. The government will first prioritise the waterways followed by the railways, roadways and aviation when it comes to infrastructure. However, with the increasing demand for road public transport – especially the railways and the roadways. The government will focus on electric vehicles.

To reduce fuel demands, the government will first focus on increasing ethanol usage. The market size of ethanol is currently 20,000 crore and the government is giving permission to increase the same to take the market cap to around Rs 5 lakh crore in the next two years.

Push for flex engines

To ensure that the vehicles use the extra ethanol available in the market, the government will bring in the flex engines. These engines can run on 100% ethanol or 100% petrol and are already available in many countries including Brazil, the USA and Canada.

For electric vehicles, Gadkari says that about 81% of lithium-ion batteries used to make vehicles in India are manufactured in the country. In 6 months, the country will be in a position to make 100% lithium-ion batteries in India. The government is also working on hydrogen-powered vehicles.

World leader in 5 years

Gadkari said due to the scrappage policy, the country will move forward and will transform into the number 1 electric vehicle manufacturing hub in the world. Gadkari said that the scrappage policy will allow the manufacturers to produce more electric vehicles and clean vehicles.

With the scrappage policy, important metals like aluminium, copper, rubber and other parts will be available for recycling. This will allow the manufacturers to source affordable recycled materials and bring down the manufacturing cost.

Gadkari said that he is 100% confident that in two years, the cost of electric buses will be equal to diesel buses, the cost of electric cars will be equal to petrol cars and the cost of electric two-wheelers will be equal to the cost of petrol two-wheelers.

Also read: Tata Nexon goes off roading in the Himalayas (Video)