PROJECT REPORT ON

MARKET POTENTIAL STUDY OF ELECTRIC CARS

By

SAURABH SHARMA
PG20112202

IILM Institute for Higher Education GURGAON

TOPIC- MARKET POTENTIAL STUDY FOR ELECTRIC CARS

Electric cars are getting attention for their environment friendly, convenient and economic fuel image. The biggest advantage of electric cars is that it creates less pollution.This mode of personal transportation is getting popular in India in recent years. India being a fossil fuel based country will look for non conventional sources of energy and fuel in coming times. EV can be a potential for India. The Indian government policies are also supporting their use. These vehicles are based on battery power as their fuel. The electric vehicle industry is in its introductory phase and there exist a oligopolistic market.

WHAT IS AN ELECTRIC CARAn electric car is an automobile that is propelled by one electric motor or more, using electrical energy stored in batteries or another energy storage device. Electric motors give electric cars instant torque, creating strong and smooth acceleration. An electric car powered by sunlight is a solar car, and an electric car powered by a gasoline generator is a form of hybrid car. Electric cars have several benefits over conventional internal combustion engine automobiles, including a significant reduction of local air pollution, as they have no tailpipe, and therefore do not emit harmful tailpipe pollutants from the onboard source of power at the point of operation; reduced greenhouse gas emissions from the onboard source of power, depending on the fuel and technology used for electricity generation to charge the batteries; and less dependence on foreign oil, which for the United States and other developed or emerging countries is cause for concern about vulnerability to oil price volatility and supply disruption. WHAT IS INSIDE AN ELECTRIC CAR Under the hood, there are a lot of differences between gasoline and electric cars. The gasoline engine is replaced by an electric motor. The electric motor is connected to a controller. The controller gets its power from an array of rechargeable batteries. If the motor is a DC motor, then it may run on anything from 96 to 192 volts. Many of the DC motors used in electric cars come from the electric forklift industry. If it is an AC motor, then it probably is a three-phase AC motor running at 240 volts AC with a 300 volt battery pack.

LIST OF SOME ELECTRIC CARS PRESENT GLOBALLY Toyota Prius BMW Active E Fiat 500E Nissan Leaf Chevrolet Spark EV Honda Fit EV Mahindra Reva Scion IQ EV

ELECTRIC CARS IN INDIAN MARKETMAHINDRA REVA I- REVAi is a pioneer of EV (electric vehicle) technologies and one of the first companies to introduce electric vehicles worldwide. Founded in 1994 as REVAi Electric Car Company, a joint venture between the Maini Group of Bangalore and AEV LLC of USA, the company was acquired in May 2010 by Mahindra Group of India. The REVAi electric vehicle was launched in Bangalore in 2001 and in London in 2004. In September 2009 at the Frankfurt Auto Show the company unveiled two new cars, the 4 seat REVAi NXR and the 2 seat REVAi NXG. Today Reva has one of the largest deployed fleets of electric cars in the global market. The REVAi uses electricity as fuel. It doesnt use petrol/diesel. The REVAi has a battery and a motor. On charging the car -power is stored in the battery. Subsequently the motor drives power from battery to run the car. The REVAi does 80 km when fully charged. The car is as easy to charge as a mobile phone. It has an on-board charger along with a charge cable and can be charged anywhere, at home or at work, by simply plugging in to a 230 Volt, 15-Ampere socket. A full charge is completed in 8 hours and 80% charging takes place in two and a half hours. TATA ELECTRIC CAR- Tata Motors, which plans to deliver its first electric car by the end of this year, has turned to its tried and tested Indica platform for the vehicle. According to industry sources, the company is currently working on five prototypes of electric vehicles on the Indica platform.

CURRENT SCENARIO AND THE NEED OF ELECTRIC CARS IN NEAR FUTUREToday, we are challenged by many global problems. Climate Change is the greatest global challenge of our generation. Challenges of this enormity require radical change that can only be

delivered by completely new thinking. We are being forced to rethink how to sustain our current quality of life: the way we generate power and heat, our energy usage and consumption, the food we eat and how we produce it, the way we move around. Our current lifestyles and the associated emissions are simply no longer sustainable. The pollution levels are considerably increasing day by day. Transportation is the big problem area In terms of emissions in India. Not only does it make up more than 20% of our entire national emissions, it is by far the biggest growth area. Since 1990 transport emissions in India have increased by 165%. In 1990 we had 800,000 vehicles on Indian roads, 10 years later it was 1.3 million, now the figure is 2 million. Most people view transport as an impossible sector to tackle in terms of meeting emissions targets. I see it as the most exciting area to provide the solutions everyone needs. Many Indian state governments are planning for the replacement of hundreds of thousands of vehicles within the next five years. Delhi government itself has started drive to use clean fuel. If this is to work, e-vehicle manufacturers must be aggressive and ambitious and target must be the complete replacement of oil powered vehicles. The electricity generation consequences of over a million vehicles, requiring batteries to be recharged, may sound like a barrier to progress. But in fact it is a new opportunity that can level the demand curve for electricity consumption and provide a new electricity storage system, in batteries, for use when the power is needed. India is bursting with natural resources that can be exploited to produce affordable renewable energy. We have better and more consistent wind speeds and large coast line. Governments various energy research projects are showing real promise. India needs to make a dramatic shift to electric vehicles. The choice is: either we sit back and allow other countries take the lead in adopting electric vehicles and be a follower in the technology or we can be a leader in this new and rapidly growing global industry. Being a first mover in this area will not only reduce our transport emissions by up to 8 million tons per year, but it will also be the start of an exciting new industry employing tens of thousands of highly skilled people. Yes, the risk is definitely there but I still believe that India should take a chance. Its not time to be hesitant. We should be ambitious to grasp the exciting opportunities that exist for us in the electric revolution. Enhancing the quality of life is the ultimate objective and the driving force behind many of the critical decisions we take. However, for this to happen, we as a community need to shift from individualistic mindsets and take responsibility for the environment we live in. It is only then that we would see improvement. The answer lies in innovation, which has always been the force behind powerful changes

Rise in economic activity and population has led to a tremendous demand in the transport sector especially in urban India. By 2020, India's population in cities is expected to grow fivefold to a staggering 200 million while pollution is expected to grow by seven times. With this tremendous growth has emerged a very critical issue of keeping air and noise pollution in urban areas under control. Thus electric vehicles are the long-term solution to India's urban pollution. ADVANTAGES OF ELECTRIC CARS There are many choices of cars available. More efficient than gas-powered vehicles. You can plug the car into any outlet of the proper voltage and charge the car. Electric cars give off no emissions. electric cars are totally 100 percent free of pollutants. Major automakers are working on creating a standard system for battery charging. Will reduce Indias dependence on foreign oil imports. DISADVANTAGES OF ELECTRIC CARS Electric cars are limited as to the distance that they can be driven before complete battery failure; average range is only about 100 miles. The first disadvantage is price. Electric car batteries are not cheap, and the better the battery, the more you will pay. They also charge slowly and have a short life. Even though it is a quiet ride, silence can be seen as a disadvantage. People like to hear cars when they are coming up behind them or beside them, and you can't hear if an electric car is near you. This has been known to lead to accidents. Electric cars cannot cruise, accelerate, or climb fast enough to compete with gasolinepowered cars and accessories, such as air conditioning and radios, drain the battery even further. Most electric cars currently on the road do not have long ranges. Although in the future it will improve.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGYOBJECTIVE- The research objective is to study the market potential of electric cars and to look for areas of improvement so that people are motivated to buy these environment friendly vehicles. SAMPLE AND DATA COLLLECTION- A sample of 30 respondents was taken and a questionnaire was used to collect the primary data. Secondary data was also referred. The

required secondary data sources included different websites, journals, research papers and books.

QUESTIONAIRE1. NAME2. AGE3. WHAT IS YOUR ANNUAL FAMILY INCOME? a) below 5 Lacs b) 5 7 Lacs c) 7- 9 Lacs d) Above 9 Lacs 4. Are you aware of electric cars? Yes/no 5. Approximate how much do you spend on fuel for your car in a month?(In Rupees) a) 1500 b) 2500 c) 4000 d) 5000 and above 6. Are you ready to use an e-vehicle in place of your fuel driven vehicle? a) Very much b) I guess so c) might be d) not at all 7. Are you environment conscious? Yes/no 8. What will you look for in an e-vehicle? a) Heavy duty Battery b) Looks c) Comfort d) Safety e) Powerful motor 9. What will be your reason for not using an e-vehicle? a) High price b) Kids ride c) Battery charging hassle d) poor service network Low max speed 10. Do you think environment friendly vehicles are worth paying more money for? a) Strongly Disagree b) Disagree c) Undecided d) Agree e) Strongly Agree 11. Do you think you would purchase a electric car in the next ten years? a) Yes b) No c) May Be d) Cant Say 12. Any comments?

e)

FINDINGSThe major findings are understatedMajority of respondents are aware of electric cars.(approx 80%) Majority of them are still not sure of using a electric car in future but respondents who are environment conscious do feel that it is a good replacement for petrol/diesel cars in future. Many of them agree that electric vehicles are fuel efficient and environment friendly but they say they dont want to pay more for the environment friendly vehicles.

Majority of them look for a heavy duty battery in their electric car so that they dont have to charge it again and again. This shows that for a potential market of electric vehicles the battery problem needs to be resolved as soon as possible. Majority of them say that the major reason for not owning an electric vehicle is its high price and battery charging hassle. Respondents are still not sure if they will like to buy a electric vehicle even 10 years from now. Some of the respondents say that they are aware of environmental problems like global warming etc and they do not mind buying electric cars to save environment but only if problems of cost, battery and speed are resolved. It can be concluded that many of respondents spend a substantial amount of their monthly costs on fuel which they would obviously want to lessen. The use of hybrid can bring a lot of benefits for its customers apart from being environment friendly.

SUGGESTIONS/CONCLUSIONE-vehicles would definitely hold potential for the markets like India if the companies were able to gauge the needs and demands of the target audience and keep on continuously make changes and innovating their offerings. Country like India which is still not self sufficient in the field of fuel will have to accept and adopt the new ways of transportation if not now then in coming years but this is bound to happen. Automobile Giants like Toyota and Tata, have already launched their prototype hybrid vehicle in the country but still it has a long way to go. Customers look for long battery life and hassle free charging of the electric cars .Thus companies should derive their whole marketing campaign by innovating and irritation free battery charging and durable batteries. Other important doubt in the minds of the customers is the availability of auto parts. The customers are looking for reliable auto parts of the companies. Companies have to make sure the timely availability of the genuine auto parts. Also govt. should provide subsidies on electric and hybrid vehicles and vehicle parts as the US & UK governments did in order to increase the demand of these vehicles and take a new step to curb the pollution. Companies should also look for safety features of their vehicles and try to generate confidence among the users. These vehicles are not known for reliability and long rides. Long rallies and eco-friendly message will give boost to these vehicles market.
Launching electric cars in the future market of India would surely make it available to a potential market provided appropriate steps are taken for creating awareness, advertisement resulting in increased sales.