Speaking at the 8th Catalyst Conference on Sustainability of E-Vehicle Industry – Evexpo 2024, Gadkari said that the the demand for EVs will only grow and it is the appropriate time for the industry to expand.
Gadkari said that India, currently the third largest automobile industry, has rise to number 1 in the next five years through EVs.
He further asked EV companies to expand factories without compromising on the quality to compete against China.
“All countries trying to get green power. The industry currently has favourable conditions and potential. Research should develop technology to capture world market,” said the minister.
“The future of the industry is good. We have to compete against China in this sector. For that, we need good technology and quality,” added the Transport and Road Safety.
Additionally, Gadkari said that the e-vehicle industry would not only help the automobile sector, but will also play a key role in the Viksit Bharat 2047 mission.
Government’s push for make in India batteries and EV infrastructure
Gadkari said the current lifecycle cost of lithium-ion battery is $115, but will come down to less than $100 in the next six months.
“Manufacturing batteries in India is important. Companies Tata, Adani and Maruti are already in the process of developing batteries. India also has 6 per cent of world lithium reserves,” said Gadkari.
Apart from lithium-ion batteries He encouraged companies to also research and develop Sodium-ion and Zinc-ion batteries.
Talking about the developments in the EV sector, Gadkari said India has 16,000 EV charging centres and 2,800 are in the pipeline.