What's happening in EV? 15 April 2020

Pandemic lockdowns are encouraging more consumers to buy EVs

Auto industry analysts are predicting that sales of electric vehicles will suffer badly due to the pandemic. But it’s not the first time that legacy industry sources have written off EVs. However, a new UK survey suggests that the coronavirus is making consumers more aware of the environment — and therefore more inclined to buy an electric car.

Government proposes to hike customs duty on imported electric vehicles

To push local manufacturing in the EV segment, the government has increased customs duty on imported completely built units (CBUs) of commercial EVs to 40 percent with effect from April 1, 2020, from 25 percent currently.

Warren Buffett-backed BYD to supply EV parts to rivals

BYD Co, the Chinese electric-vehicle maker backed by Warren Buffett, will start offering a full suite of EV components to rivals and aspiring auto manufacturers to diversify its revenue sources amid sputtering car demand.

15 ways the Indian Auto Industry will change post Covid 19

Autocar has put together a good timeline of the global auto industry after the Corona virus outbreak

The outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), which originated in Wuhan, China in end-December 2019, is fast spreading its tentacles across the world and is having a major impact on all aspects of society, including the automotive industry. All through January and February, automakers and their suppliers have been scrambling to keep vehicle assembly lines humming but March has seen the industry take concerted action, in sync with government advisories, to keep its personnel safe.

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We’ve got a few questions for you guys:

  1. Will EV manufacturers take more time to recover from the Pandemic compared to their ICE counterparts?
  2. Is hiking custom duty on imported electric vehicles a good move?
  3. Where will you take your 450 after the lockdown? :thinking:

Sounds like BAD news for those waiting for Tesla to start selling in India! :frowning:

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There are a lot of people waiting to buy a Tesla in India, but personally, I’d be apprehensive about going for it without the ecosystem. Is it really that useful on India roads without supercharging, FSD etc?

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Haha true that! Half of the features might not be usable in India (especially the ludicrous mode and FSD, which I think will see cars flying off the roads if tried in India :wink: ). But Tesla being Tesla, I had hoped that they would bring the ecosystem to India along with their cars, like they did in many other countries…

But in any case, now it looks like even more unlikely they will come to India anytime soon. I feel bad for those who prebooked Model 3 when registrations opened in India in 2016 :joy:

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I am interested to know

How Ather energy is effected by pandemic??

When will you Reveal Ather 450x collectors edition??

Will Ather 450x delivered as promised timeline July 1st batch Q3 2020 ?

I don’t care what rest of the world thinking about Ev’s … I am very interested what Ather Energy is planing and how it is going to change Indian Auto Industry

On-ground operations have come to a halt. We don’t have clarity on the timelines of deliveries and resuming regular operations right now, since we don’t know how long the lockdown would be in place.

We’re estimating what the impact of the lockdown would be on the timelines and will be able to share an update in a couple of weeks.

  1. An EV with 400+ km range will work for lots of people with zero ecosystem. My family and many I know never drive that many km a day. Also, Tesla can set up super chargers on all major highways in a matter of few months. Piece of cake.

  2. Why do you have to have FSD for a Tesla to be useful? They are fun to drive and FSD is optional purchase anyway. I wouldn’t pay for FSD if I’m buying in India. They probably won’t sell it with FSD in India.

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