The Finance Minister, while presenting the budget, said that the government will bring a battery swap policy to promote the use of electric vehicles in the country in view of the paucity of space to set up charging stations.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Nirmala Sitharaman announced battery swapping policy in the budget presented on Tuesday
- Battery swapping policy will be introduced to promote the use of electric vehicles
- The idea of a swap policy is interesting, but not possible without the involvement of the government.
Washington: India’s proposed ‘battery swap’ policy is interesting but it is unlikely to succeed without government support as major car companies do not share their battery technology. An expert in the automotive industry has said this. In a major move to boost the electric vehicle sector in India, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday presented a budget of Rs 39.45 lakh crore.
Responding to the new policy, Arthur Wheaton, an automotive industry expert and director of labor studies at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor, said the idea of a battery swap policy is interesting, but without major government involvement. Impossible. “The major car companies don’t share their battery technology (or any technology) and interchangeable batteries will mean a lot of redundant batteries in effect across the country,” he said.
Regarding this, Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director (Auto and Farm), Mahindra & Mahindra said that the roadmap prepared by the Finance Minister to introduce sustainable mobility in the Union Budget 2022-23 will boost the adoption of electric mobility in India.
Martin Schwenk, Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India said that the battery swap announcement is a step in the right direction and will be helpful for a limited segment.
