Electronic mobility: an opportunity for developing countries
Mobility around the world mostly comprises fossil-fuelled vehicles. This poses challenge such as CO2 emissions and poor air quality in urban areas. Rapid urbanization motorization in cities will further intensify these challenges. At the same time, access to transport is essential for economic growth and development. Hence, in many cities, they are literally clouds on the horizon. It is not rocket science to conclude that there is a need for alternative modes of mobility. Electric mobility helps to reduce the issues of CO2 emissions and poor air quality. The demand for electric mobility therefore accelerates greatly across major markets in the world. But is electricity mobility only accessible for those regions? Or will developing countries be able to benefit as well?
In developed countries, governments have been putting a lot of effort in making electric mobility more attractive. Fiscal incentives, subsidy schemes and providing public charging infrastructure are no exception.
More surprising, and what contrary to what one might expect, electric mobility can be simple and affordable as well. Countries like India have engaged in electric mobility in ways that suit the local circumstances. Scooters and light vehicles are a major way of transport in Indian cities, which allows inhabitants to quickly navigate through crowded urban areas. To support the adoption of electric scooters and light electric vehicles, the Indian government initiated a financial support scheme. The charging infrastructure of the light electric vehicles is essentially very basic and accessible as well: it is either a single charger or battery swapping system, both well suited with the current state of the local grid. And the inhabitants of Indian cities? They are enthusiastic about attractive TCO and additional advantages of electric vehicles as they are silent, have low maintenance and lower cost to operate. The inhabitants move to electric vehicles, with for example over 1.5 million battery powered e rickshaw already zipping silently around the country.
So, will developing countries be able to adopt electric mobility as well? Definitely! By targeting the right type of electric vehicles that fit the local context, the uptake of electric vehicles can be achieved in low and middle income countries. The right target differs among countries. Government can further facilitate the market through policies, regulations, standards for charging and basic consumer protection frameworks with low fiscal costs. These policies can even be tailored towards lower income groups, and the government could consider the ‘polluter pays’ principle to prevent excessive expenses for incentives,
Hence, electric mobility may contribute to the access to transport, without posing further environment challenges.