With COVID-19 lockdown improving air quality, will Electric Vehicles surge in India?

The nationwide lockdown imposed on March 24th, 2020 is seeing many positive effects on the environment with many cities in India enjoying improved air quality not observed seemingly in decades.

People have been awestruck by the sudden change in the air quality especially in the most polluted cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and more. In New Delhi, the air quality index (AQI) level has dropped below 20 regularly and has even touched 7), where it generally stands over 200 when all the vehicles are running. And this has been the case across the world from Bogota to Bangkok.

With most of the public at homes, pollution because of transport from greenhouse gases and emissions like NO2 and particulates have significantly come down. A new study has also shown that the improvement in air quality has got people thinking more about buying electric vehicles. In a survey done in UK, 45 per cent have said that they are thinking of buying an EV over a ICE car and 17 per cent of them are sure to buy an EV within the next five years. Head to thedriven.io to get more details.

Once the lockdown is lifted, it is expected that with the new awareness in people regarding the contribution of vehicular pollution to the air that they breathe and how much cleaner it could get without having to give them away, EVs will be seen in a new light. The post-corona days will also make social distancing a new norm and personal transport will be preferred. And since electric scooters are more affordable than cars and maintain distance naturally, e-bikes could also see a surge in sales.

Expressing similar thoughts, Rajeev Chaba, President & Managing Director of MG Motor India has said that more people will ask for environment-friendly solutions now that the lockdown has given fresh air and reduced emissions.