What does Nitin Gadkari mean when he says that EVs would cost only as much as regular petrol cars? Is that possible in 2 years?

In an interesting, and perhaps ambitious statement, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari painted a rosy picture of growth of EVs in India. He may have the reputation for the aggression with which he executed highway projects, but he surely has a point when he guides about the rapid growth of EVs in India. Gadkari feels that in just 2 years, EVs will be practical and workable from an economics standpoint.

In a way, it is true that the growth of EVs in cars, scooters and commercial vehicles has really picked up in a big way in India. This is likely to be further catalysed by rapid strides in green fuel technology. The net result would be the sharp reduction in the cost of owning and operating electric vehicles (EVs). Gadkari estimates that cost of owning EVs will come to the same level as petrol run vehicles in as little as just 2 years from now.

Some trends are already visible For instance, Gadkari has rightly pointed out that first time owners of cars are already actively shifting to eco-friendly EV vehicles. In addition, EV sales would likely be led by alternative fuels derived from renewable sources like electric, green hydrogen and ethanol. It may be a small base, but the reality is that the EV sales in the current year have already grown by 162% and there is no disputing these numbers.

According to Gadkari, this shift will also be led by macro concerns of energy security, especially after the Ukraine war. India depends on imports for 85% of its daily crude oil needs. This makes the economy highly susceptible to the global vagaries, as we just saw in the Russia Ukraine war. Oil imports also entail foreign exchange outflows and this puts additional pressure on the Indian rupee as well as on the current account.