Explanation of Nitin Gadkari’s big statements on flex engines, EVs and scrapping of old vehicles – Times of India

Road Transport and Highways Minister of India Nitin Gadkari addressed the delegates and stakeholders of the Indian automotive industry at the 62nd SIAM Annual Conference in Delhi on 15 September. He talked about the importance of the industry as the topmost contributor to our National GDP and urged the manufacturers to make the transition from cost centric to quality centric with their R&D approach. “Low budgets also want good quality/safety and the industry needs to move on,” he said.

The Minister spoke about India’s ambitions to become the world’s largest automotive manufacturing hub and a step towards that goal is the development of the India NCAP Safety Assessment Program for New Cars. This will make it easier to export locally produced vehicles to other countries on a large scale. At present, India is the largest manufacturer of two wheelers and three wheelers and exports a large amount of those vehicles.

Speaking on the upcoming 27 ‘Green Field Expressways’, which will cut down on travel time and even offer charging lanes for electric trucks, Gadkari spoke about the air pollution problem in the country and said “This is a big challenge for the country, while we build more roads, pollution also needs to be curbed. We need to discourage the production and sale of diesel and petrol vehicles and research new alternatives.” The minister mentioned Toyota’s Hybrid Camry saloon and announced that a flex-fuel powered Camry is launching soon, which will be able to run on ethanol.
Gadkari also spoke at length on Electric Mobility and EVs with the stakeholders, he shared the data on how the total EV sales have increased by 162 per cent with the sales of Electric Three Wheelers in the country increasing by 75 per cent. On public transport, Gadkari said, “After the initial success of CESL’s biggest tender of 5,500 electric buses for mobility as a service, the next target is to plan a mega tender for 50,000 electric buses across the country.” He also cited the high cost and life cycle of lithium-ion based electric buses and urged manufacturers to explore the tram system of overhead power cables and develop trolley buses.

Speaking on the current vehicle of the country scrapping policyThe Minister of Road Transport and Highways shared some details and suggestions. He said that at present there are 1.02 crore vehicles in the country which are eligible for scrapping. “While we currently have only 20 scrapping centers across India. To meet that quantity we need at least 3 scrapping centers in each district. The amount of copper, aluminum and steel that comes out of the scrap can reduce the cost of components by up to 30 percent. Gadkari added. The Minister also discussed the idea of ​​giving discounts or incentives for those who get their vehicles scrapped and obtain scrapping certificates.

Altogether Nitin GadkariThe big statements of the Indian Automotive Industry seem to be heading towards some major changes and a new era. What are your thoughts on upcoming developments, let us know in the comments below.