The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) recently organized a virtual lecture with Electric Vehicles (EVs) as the theme. With a focus on on-road safety, operations and maintenance, Prashant K Banerjee, Executive Director, SIAM, in his opening remarks expressed that the current decade would be looked upon as a decade of electrification. Pointing at road safety, operations and maintenance, Banerjee mentioned that EVs are being developed for the Indian market. Sushant Naik, Co-chairman, SIAM Electric Mobility Group & Global Head, Government Affairs, Tata Motors, averred that EVs are witnessing a growing market in India, which is a positive sign towards electrification. Pradeep Kumar, Head (Vehicle & Customer Care), Ather Energy, highlighted some inherent advantages that electric vehicles possess, which with data and connectivity, integrated backend, and front end, are driving sales and service. Emphasising on battery safety design aspects and maintenance, Abhijit Mulay, General Manager, ARAI said that regulations like AIS 038, AIS 048, and AIS 056 are in place in India. These are aligned to UN R100 and further revisions, he added. Mulay further informed that the focus from lithium-ion cells has now is on system level approaches like battery management systems, functional safety, thermal safety, closed loop safety, etc.
Drawing attention to the logistics and transportation of EV batteries as an important aspect, Mulay stated that the regulatory standard in this respect is UN38.3. Awadhesh Jha, Vice President, Fortum India, said, “Battery management systems plays a crucial role in the safety of EVs. Charging an EV is very safe and easy if certified chargers are used.” There are risks involved, however, the scale is minuscule, he added. Speaking on the significance of skilling in EV maintenance, Arindam Lahiri, CEO, ASDC, said, “In the case of EVs, the two most impacted areas are the manufacturing domain and the dealership service domain. He informed that they have launched an electric mobility ‘Nanodegree Programme’ in association with DIY guru, an online learning platform for engineers across, Pmanifold, an online training program with in depth knowledge on the planning of EV fleet for specific objectives to develop a holistic understanding of EV. ASDC has partnered with MG Motor and Autobot India to launch Dakshta, a training programme that specialises in artificial intelligence and EVs aimed at creating skilled manpower for the automobile industry.
Karthick Athmanathan, Professor, IIT Madras, spoke about the ecosystem of the e-bus fleet encompassing the ‘cradle to grave’ full cycle. He stressed on the stakeholders involved at different stages, including the drivers, government and transport authorities, regulators, maintenance service providers, EaaS providers, depot management team, data and analytics experts, and public safety ‘first responders’ like police, firemen, etc. Athmanathan stated that data analytics has an important role to play to make future predictions, resolve issues and effect functional improvements.
In his concluding remarks, Vikram Gulati, Co-chairman, SIAM Electric Mobility Group, and Senior Vice President and National Head, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, averred that there are many sides to the EV story in India that the domain experts have stressed on. Sides pertaining to knowledge and competency, charging infrastructure, safety protocols, new regulations, skilling, and others. Of the opinion that a significant technology transition is on, he stated that speed of evolution is very high. Gulati concluded that on-road safety, operations and maintenance, aftermarket ecosystem and a technology shift are some of the important milestones in the transformation and growth of EVs in India.
