Developing a market assessment and action plan for electric mobility in India

The World Bank Group commissioned Steer to develop a comprehensive market assessment tool covering the overall 2W, 3W, 4W cargo/freight fleets, passenger fleets and bus markets, together with supporting charging infrastructure, with deep dives into selected cities across three states. The study aims to identify an action plan to promote rapid growth in the most promising business sectors by leveraging the financial capacity of the World Bank Group with changes to the regulatory and policy environment to reduce/remove barriers to the take up of EVs.

How we helped

This assignment involved developing a detailed understanding of the factors that drive the value chain, translated into business models that can develop and sustain the e-mobility market in an Indian context. These models have been evaluated for each mode (e-2W, e-3W, e-buses, e-fleet) and each market segment (shared, personal, commercial) reflecting the differences in patterns of ownership and usage (passenger, freight). The corresponding charging infrastructure including battery swapping facilities, were assessed to create a viable operating environment for supporting the uptake of the selected business models. Based on the market assessment and business model analysis, our team also identified investment opportunities across market segments for the WBG where such instruments can help in catalysing private capital.

Successes & outcomes

This study is being led by NITI Aayog (central policy-making body of India) and the action plan recommendations were presented to them over two workshops and separately discussed with state governments of the selected states to influence change in the EV policy environment. Many recommendations such as implementing consistent taxation and introducing scrappage policy are currently being pursued by the Central government. Maharashtra is revising its EV policy and many recommendations would be incorporated in the revised draft.

The World Bank Group is working with EESL (Energy Efficiency Services Limited) to invest in an aggregator model for e-buses and e-3Ws as recommended in the Study. The WBG is also evaluating potential investments in charging infrastructure deployment in Tamil Nadu based on the charging infrastructure demand and financial model developed during the study.