Yearender 2022: Ola CEO counters 3 popular arguments against Electric Vehicles

As we enter 2023, a journey down the year 2022 reminds us how electric vehicles ruled the Indian auto industry for most of the year. The past year will be remembered as the year India’s EV revolution truly took off. Multiple launches in both two-wheelers and four-wheelers segments were done, but one company that made most mark in the past one year has to be Ola Electric. From just 4000 units a month in June 2021, the monthly run rate reached 80,000 units towards the end of 2022, a 20x growth was reported by Ola, making it the most dominating EV maker in India.

The success of Ola Electric meant the success of India and from less than 1% penetration in 2021, India had almost 6% EVs in just a year. The EV revolution in India has not been just restricted to the urban centers, but is proving to be a pan India phenomenon. In fact, many cities like Bengaluru, Pune, Surat, etc already have an EV penetration of almost 20%.

As India’s EV revolution has picked up steam in 2022, there have been some arguments made against it by various stakeholders. Bhavish Aggarwal, Ola Electric CEO lists the top 3 arguments and makes counters against them. Here's a look:

EVs are more sustainable even if the power generation is coal based

Yes, even with India’s current power generation mix, EVs are less than half as polluting as ICE vehicles. An ICE engine has an energy conversion efficiency of 30% whereas an EV motor has an energy conversion efficiency of 95%. And as we install more renewable power and our mix changes towards renewables, the same EV car that you drive becomes cleaner and cleaner towards a future where all power will be renewable.

Lithium is owned by China, so India will increase dependence on China with increasing EV adoption

China currently dominates the midstream processing of lithium. However the majority of lithium mines are located in Australia, Chile, and Argentina. China doesn’t control a vast majority of these mines. By focusing on localizing the midstream processing of lithium and partnering with these countries, India can build an alternate supply chain for ourselves and the world

Hydrogen is the future, not EVs

While hydrogen is an exciting energy technology, its application will be much more in static industrial setups. It will never be as efficient as EVs. Imagine, using electricity to produce hydrogen, then compressing and shipping over thousands of kilometers and then pumping it into hydrogen cars and converting it back into electricity. The grid is the most efficient system to transport electricity and hence EVs will  always be much cheaper than hydrogen cars.

The arguments in the article are written by Ola Electric CEO Bhavish Aggarwal. All views are personal.