Kerala lures e-vehicle makers

KOCHI: A journey of a thousand steps, starts with a single step, as per a Chinese saying.

Coming to Kerala, in order to fulfil the dream journey of having one million electric vehicles (EVs) on the roads by 2022, the state government took its first step by strengthening the EV eco-system in the state.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated a two-day event Evolve: Kerala Mobility and Conference Expo held here on Saturday by promising commitment to environment protection through clean and safer technology.

Mr Vijayan said that the state has taken its first step towards the ambitious project which aims to provide more than 10 lakh e-vehicles within three years.

A scooter on display at the expo can go up 90 km (under ideal riding conditions) on a single charge. It takes around one hour to charge fully.

“A pilot fleet of two lakh two-wheelers, 50,000 three wheelers, 1,000 goods carriers, 3,000 buses and 100 ferry boats are planned as part of the EV adoption,” he said during the event.

Pilot e-mobility zones in tourist spots of Kovalam, Munnar, Bekal and Secretariat, Technopark and Info parks are on the anvil, he said.

The bus can go upto 215 km on a single charge. It takes around 6 - 7 hours in normal charging and 2.5 - 3 hours with fast charging.

The unified metropolitan transport authority integrating various modes of transport as in London or Singapore will be in place in three cities of Kerala soon.

The Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) regarding charging infrastructure were signed with NTPC, Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), Sun Mobility and for hydrogen fuel cell pilot with Spotimyze.

The state government also plans to make Trivandrum 100 per cent e-mobile within one year.

Niti Aayog Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant encouraged Kerala to be front runner in manufacturing e-mobility infrastructure in India rather than importing from other countries.

He also promised subsidies, exemptions for the use of e-mobility. Ernakulam Member of Parliament Hibi Eden who chaired the event opined that e-mobility was a new challenge and it needed encouragement and support from the Central government.

Chief Secretary Tom Jose, Principal Secretary K.R. Jyothilal, KMRL managing director A.P.M. Mohammed Hanish spoke during the event.