“As the world's third-largest auto market, India has enormous potential in the EV sector. However, our current auto penetration is less than 200 vehicles per 1000 people, and we sell 2 million EVs annually compared to China's 30 million. The key to democratising mobility is making it electric, significantly reducing transportation costs,” Aggarwal wrote.
17 Jul 2024 | 1860 Views | By Autocar Professional Bureau
By 2030, India should aim to become the world's largest EV (electric vehicle) market by accelerating EV-friendly policies and encouraging industry-wide support for the EV transition across all mobility types (two-wheelers, three-wheelers, cars, and trucks), IPO-bound Ola Electric’s founder Bhavish Aggarwal wrote in a blog titled ‘Technology vision for scripting ...
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By 2030, India should aim to become the world's largest EV (electric vehicle) market by accelerating EV-friendly policies and encouraging industry-wide support for the EV transition across all mobility types (two-wheelers, three-wheelers, cars, and trucks), IPO-bound Ola Electric’s founder Bhavish Aggarwal wrote in a blog titled ‘Technology vision for scripting India's economic destiny’ on Wednesday.
“As the world's third-largest auto market, India has enormous potential in the EV sector. However, our current auto penetration is less than 200 vehicles per 1000 people, and we sell 2 million EVs annually compared to China's 30 million. The key to democratising mobility is making it electric, significantly reducing transportation costs,” Aggarwal wrote.
Currently, 90% of the new energy ecosystem - from solar production, lithium cell production & mid-stream processing to EV manufacturing - is concentrated in China, the blog said.
“However, this global transition is just beginning, and the world needs an alternative. By doubling down on this ecosystem and building our own technologies and supply chains in India, we can not only make our economy more energy-efficient but also create upstream manufacturing and supply chain ecosystems. This will generate tens of millions of future-ready jobs and nurture the talent needed for tomorrow's industries,” he adds.
The company’s IPO (initial public offering) is likely to be available by the end of this year. The Softbank-backed EV company is likely to pursue a valuation of approximately $4.5 billion, marking around 18 per cent decrease from its last funding round valuation of around $5.5 billion.
Aggarwal adds in the blog that the next decade will determine whether India emerges as a true tech superpower or remains on the periphery. “It's time for bold action and big dreams. This transition will not only secure our energy independence but also position us as a key player in the global fight against climate change, all while driving economic growth. This isn't about playing catch-up; it's about leapfrogging our peers to become pioneers in AI, new energy, and beyond,” he adds.
He wrote that for renewable energy to be truly effective and available 24/7, we must couple it with robust battery storage solutions. “This is crucial at the grid level, in homes, and for micro-grids in rural areas. Battery storage has the potential to transform India's energy landscape, enabling communities to generate and store their own power. Currently, our battery storage production capacity is nascent at only 2 GWh, while China has 1700 GWh. To power our RE grid with battery storage and achieve our goal of becoming a 100% EV nation, we need to aim for 1000 GWh capacity,” he wrote.
He also added that by prioritising AI and new energy India can into a $50trillion economy by 2047. “
“To drive India's growth and competitiveness, we must prioritise AI and new energy as foundational technologies. These aren't just standalone sectors, but enablers that can revolutionise our entire economy. AI can enhance productivity across industries, while new energy can reduce costs and build a green future. Investing in these areas will boost overall economic efficiency, create high-value jobs, strengthen our supply chains, foster new talent, and position India as a global leader in future industries, paving our way to becoming a $50 trillion economy,” he wrote.
Ola's newly launched AI platform Krutrim will compete with global technology majors like Microsoft and Google as the company is building energy-efficient data centres and will offer cloud services at the lowest price to address the needs of Indian developers. The company says that Krutrim understands and generates intelligent responses in over 10 Indian languages, which will be expanded to 22 official languages in the near future.
Bhavish adds, “While India's economy has digitised significantly, our compute penetration remains low compared to our peers. Despite our huge success in IT services, it represents just 1% of the $30 trillion global technology industry. Our global peers have rapidly accelerated investments in AI, pouring hundreds of billions into research, infrastructure, and talent to build strategic capabilities.