Must build local supply chain for EVs in India: ION Energy

Localisation of parts supply is the way to go to give electric vehicles its much-needed shot in the arm, says Akhil Aryan, Co-founder and CEO of ION Energy, which is a tier-1 supplier for Bajaj Auto, TVS and more.

Aryan believes that the COVID-19 crisis has made suppliers and manufacturers realize this fact and has said that while localisation is not entirely possible in case of the batteries, as most of the raw material come from China or China-owned companies, it is possible in electronics, in an interaction with Financial Express. He says that India has some of the smartest engineers in the world and is a strong tier-1 supplier base for the automobile companies. ION Energy has been involved in battery design, battery management system (BMS) and analytics on various applications including electric two & three wheelers, passenger and commercial EVs, industrial EVs and battery electric storage systems.

Speaking about the COVID-19 impact on the EV segment, Aryan opines that it has shown the positive environmental effects and made the move to electric mobility more meaningful. He said that personal mobility will increase as people will try to maintain social distancing in the post-lockdown world but companies need more financing options for electric two-wheelers. He further said that electric two-wheelers are much cheaper in operations per km when compared to petrol two-wheelers, an important consideration for the commercial segment.

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He also says that the demand is not as much a challenge as the product itself and there should be products with more range and power to appeal to a wider segment of customers.

Source: FinancialExpress.com