SIAM hosts 2nd Edition of the Global Electrification Mobility Summit at Auto Expo 2023
Greater Noida, 12th January 2023: Among the huge range of elaborate events hosted on the second day of Auto Expo 2023, the Society of Indian Mobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the apex automotive industry body organized the 2nd Global Electrification Mobility Summit (GEMS), themed “Vidyutikaran – Mapping India’s Pathway to Electrification”. Witnessing participation from many foreign and Indian delegates, the summit hosted six countries as ‘Guest Countries’ – USA, Korea, Sweden, Israel, United Kingdom & European Union. The event was further graced by stalwarts from ministries, national & International banks & NBFCs, International guest speakers, secretaries and transport commissioners of various states, and EV ecosystem stakeholders including battery manufacturers.
The Summit was supported by industry associations from across the globe including the European Union and industry associations from India, such as ACMA and CII.
Welcoming everyone present at the 2nd edition of GEMS 2023, Mr. Sushant Naik, Chairman, SIAM E-Mobility Group and Global Head – Govt. & Public Affairs, Tata Motors, said, “To battle climate change issues, many countries have set net zero targets. India has committed to achieve net zero by 2070. Considering that the transport sector contributes to around 80% of air pollution, the primary focus should be to make zero emission vehicles in India. The Indian Government has put in a lot of efforts and hopes to achieve the target of 30% EVs by 2030 and make India a manufacturing hub for EVs. Various incentives are being rolled out that are in line with the Government vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.”
Mr. Vivek Bhimanwar, IAS & Transport Commissioner- Maharashtra Govt, said, “India has pledged a target to reduce carbon emissions by 45 percent in COP 26, and to achieve this target, electric mobility is indispensable. There has been a marked growth in EV adoption in 2022 as compared to 2021, and we anticipate that 10% of all four-wheelers on the road will be EVs. To achieve this target, we are providing subsidies to OEMs and we have also exempted taxes till 2025. The Government is undertaking several initiatives to drive EV adoption in India and is readying up plug and play infrastructure to achieve such a target.”
Mr. Mike Hawes, Chief Executive Officer at Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said, “India cannot achieve its net zero targets without decarbonisation and a shift in this direction is already taking place. A lot of companies around the world are targeting to go all EV by 2035 and for this, we need to develop a range of EV centric solutions and compel brands to sell a set percentage of EVs. Ethanol, decorbonization, affordability, everything needs to be taken into consideration to push EV adoption.”
Mr. Vinod Agarwal, President of SIAM, said, “The Auto industry has a huge contribution to the country’s GDP, but it is also responsible for 30 percent of all greenhouse emissions. As such, it is imperative to reduce carbon intensity by 45 percent by 2025, in line with PMs vision of decarbonisation. Electrification is a key step if we are to achieve India’s goal of decarbonisation. The FAME 1 and FAME 2 scheme, PLI scheme has played a significant role in pushing the adoption of EVs in India. In fact, 70,000 EV two-wheelers have already been sold.”
Dr. Hanif Qureshi, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries, said, “Electric Mobility is a significant step and the good news is that EV adoption in the country has almost doubled compared to the numbers we recorded in 2021, thanks to the various schemes announced by the Government to push EV adoption. Additionally, as batteries are an important component of EVs, we do have a PLI scheme to encourage manufacturing of advanced chemistry cells in India. Apart from this, ethanol blending and hybrid vehicles will play a significant role towards decarbonisation and we have already achieved 10% of the ethanol blending target.”
Mr. Sudhendu J. Sinha, Adviser (Infrastructure Connectivity & Electric Mobility) at NITI Aayog, Govt of India, said “We are rewriting the entire history of the automobile industry. We are looking at the electrification of new things. We are not just looking at being just a EV using country, but also becoming a global manufacturing hub for EVs. Niti Ayog is in full support of the industry’s journey towards electrification.”
The EV Finance Session, themed “Financing the xEV revolution in India” was chaired by Ms. Suman Mishra, Co-Chairperson, Electric Mobility Group, SIAM and CEO, Mahindra Electric. The panel included Mr. Gerald Ollivier, Lead Transport Specialist, South Asia Transport, The World Bank, Mr. Xitij Kothi, Co-Founder, New age players – Vidyut Tech, Ms. Mahua Acharya, MD Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL), Mr. Raul Rebello, COO MMFSL, NBFC – Mahindra Finance, Mr. Mohammed Turra, Senior Vice President, Head of Leasing & Subscription Business (Quiklyz), Mahindra Finance.
The panellists discussed about the new sustainable technologies emerging in the electric mobility ecosystem, changing financial dynamics in this space, financing options, and the need for circular economy. The Session was moderated by Ms. Alisha Sachdev, Assistant Editor, Mint.
Guest Countries Session: Sweden, United Kingdom, Israel, European Union & Korea, themed “Learning from the electrification story of global xEV leaders and strategizing the 2030 roadmap for India’s electrification”, was chaired by Mr Saurabh Dalela, Director, ICAT. The session delved into how different countries are approaching vehicle electrification and strategizing India’s 2030 roadmap for electrification. The session primarily shed light on global electrification expertise and best practices how some of these can can be replicated in India. The panel included addresses by Mr. Mike Hawes, Chief Executive, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), Mr. Aviv Tzidon, Chaiman & Founder, Phinergy, Israel, Dr. Michael Bucki, Counsellor, Head of Section, Delegation of the European Union to India, and Mr. Jonghoon Woo, Head of Department (HoD) from Global Project Planning Team, Hyundai Motor Company.
The Indian States Session, themed “State E-mobility policy updates and the need for state policy harmonization”, was chaired by Mr. Akash Passey, Electric mobility group, SIAM and President, Bus Division & E-mobility, VE Commercial Vehicles Ltd. The panelists present shared their views on E-mobility policy updates required and emphasized on the need for state level policy harmonization plans. Industry indomitable, including the likes of Mr. Vikas Garg, Principal Secretary Transport, Government of Punjab, Mr Vivek Bhimanwar, Transport Commissioner, Government of Maharashtra, Dr Reji Mathai, Director, Automotive Research Association of India and, Mr. Prasanna Patwardhan, Chairamn & Managing Director Purple Group also shared their views.
The EV Ecosystem Session, themed “Fast-track charging, battery chemistries for the future, emphasise resource efficiency & circular economy aspects and key imperatives for the EV ecosystem in India.” was chaired by Mr. Manu Saxena, Co-Chairperson, Electric Mobility Group, SIAM and Sr. Vice President, Future Mobility, TVS Motor Company. The panel discussed about the changing landscape of EVs in terms of technological shifts towards a sustainable future. The panelists included Mr. Rajat Verma, Founder/CEO, LOHUM Cleantech Pvt. Ltd., Mr. Atul Arya, Energy Storage, Panasonic, Mr. Virendra Goyal, Head BD – EV Charging, Tata Power, Mr. Prashant Kumar, Senior Manager, LG Energy Solutions, and Ms Deepti Matai, Head of Industry Auto, Google India. The panel was moderated by Mr. Ashim Sharma, Senior Partner, NRI Consulting & Solutions India.
Automotive CXO’s Session, themed “Industry Pathway to Vidyutikaran (Electrification)” hosted by Mr. Prashant K Banerjee, Executive Director, SIAM, discussed about the way forward on India’s journey towards electrification. The session was moderated by Mr. Parikshit Luthra, Chief of Bureau, CNBC TV-18.
The panel included Mr. Vinod Aggarwal, President, SIAM and CEO & MD, Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles, Mr. Shailesh Chandra, Vice President SIAM and Managing Director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicle Ltd and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, Mr. Eric Vas, President(Electric Vehicles), Bajaj Auto Ltd, Mr. Diego Graffi, Chairman, SIAM 3W CEOs Council, Chairman & Managing Director, Piaggio Vehicles, and Mr. Swadesh Srivastava, Head-EMVU, Hero Moto Corp Ltd.
The last session was concluded with unveiling the vision behind the theme VIDYUTIKARAN (विद्युतीकरण) strategy for electrification. The key elements of the strategy are Ecosystem development including customer awareness, securing raw material suppliers, optimizing costs including financing costs, Localisation of components including batteries, Development of Charging infrastructure and Regulations for EVs, including incentives for adoption. SIAM, with this strategy, is fully committed to developing electric mobility in India and will keep working with all the relevant stakeholders to fulfil India’s sustainability promises.
The 2nd Edition of the Summit succeeded in its endeavour to create a platform to bring everyone on board to take the journey of electrification forward in its true sense. Over the years, SIAM has been engaging with governments, corporates, and stakeholders in an effort to address environmental issues, aligning with SIAM’s objective of Building the Nation Responsibly.
