Indian Zero Emission Transportation Project (IZET)…an International Collaborative Electric Vehicle Initiative

摘要

India is coming to a point where its major cities are becoming virtually unlivable due to rapidly increasing environmental pollution. There has been tremendous growth in the number of registered vehicles during the last ten years and the country is now at the crossroads for options to speedily reduce transport related emissions in the urban centers. Public and regulatory pressures dictate the need for a market strategy to plan for alternative transportation technologies. By far the most popular vehicles in the country are two and three-wheelers (scooters and autorickshaws) with two-stroke engines. Two key vehicle market characteristics in the country are a relatively benign urban driving profile and a price elastic market demand. The Indian Zero Emission Transportation Project (IZET) is aimed at addressing these concerns, leading to accelerated commercialization of electric driven scooters and autorickshaws. This paper presents the background for a viable market for electric vehicles in India. It affords a detailed look at the international collaboration between two motivated firms, the technical and commercial decisions reached and their basis, and, the efforts associated with design, development, testing, certification and demonstration of the product, along with lessons learned. The results provide an insight into what is expected to be a fast-track path to commercialization of innovative vehicles for the intended market.