In Indian cities where pollution levels regularly reach above 430 ppm, where Air Quality Index is as frequently checked as traffic and weather, where pollution levels are a common roadside topic for discussion, one would think that greener technology would be embraced like fresh air. Not really.
India has 10 of the 14 cities with the worst air pollution in the world with pollution levels regularly reaching above 430 ppm. In cities like New Delhi, it is now a part of everyday routines to regularly check today's AQI (air quality index). India's electric mobility sector has seen waves of introducing electric vehicles into the market. However, the products have met with very low adoption rates.
To aid the situation, businesses worked closely with state and central governments to build mandates and schemes, like FAME, that would enable greener solutions than petrol and diesel purchases. While the mandates brought in significant subsidies and reduced the price of vehicles, it did little to significantly change adoption numbers in the long run.
Hero Electric, one of the first to launch electric vehicles, stood the test of time and now holds the largest market share. We partnered with them to understand the way towards sustainable growth for electric mobility, leveraging the unique spikes in adoption that come with government-linked subsidies**.**
<aside> 🛵 Client HERO ELECTRIC
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<aside> 📅 Year 2019
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Electric vehicles were being perceived by most, as either inferior or 'the other’. Most buyers of electric bikes also had other conventional-fuel two-wheelers (a primary vehicle) and reserved the EV for specific use cases only (secondary vehicle).
Ownership of a phone is a baseline for building a perceived relationship with the electric bike. This leads to misconceptions about its non-use in extreme weather conditions. Current users go so far as to even store the bike in the safety of their bedrooms or living rooms, such as to save them from any environmental conditions.
With mass awareness of EVs through organizations like Tesla, electric technology is positioned as too futuristic. Mass consumers want a bike that is for today, ones that they can tinker with if the bike stops working. One that is reliable, will take a beating, and still function daily.