Sir — This refers to the article, “Recharging India’s automobile industry” (September 21) by Kushan Mitra. The Indian Space Research Organisation developed a high-power lithium-ion battery for e-vehicles and said that it plans to share the same with automobile companies. Now, Ford has partnered with Mahindra to produce the same in Chennai. But the question is: Can such indigenous projects push the envelope in developing a superior e-vehicle battery, that on a single charge, not only gives a mileage of more than 500 kms (as against Tesla’s current best of 483 kms) but also has a long life, say more than 10 years, and can still be affordableIJ
Building requisite infrastructure, like charging stations and meeting the concomitant surge in power demand through renewable energy, are the major challenges. Retrofitting existing oil-based vehicles into electric ones (as is being done in California and France), instead of building it from scratch, saves money and resources, while easing traffic congestion. Interactions with private taxi drivers shows that e-cars perform poorly during rains, on ascending roads, or with dragging heavy weights. These defects will have to be addressed by the manufacturers, keeping in mind the notorious condition of Indian roads. India has its task cut out if it wants a kick off in e-mobility.