Battery swapping policy to play catalyst for EV adoption, say experts
In what could be a big push to the efforts of electric vehicle adoption in the country, Niti Aayog plans to roll out a battery swapping policy for EVs in the next three to four months, according to a media report. As per the proposed policy, a buyer would not be required to purchase the vehicle’s battery, which currently accounts for nearly 40 per cent of an EV’s cost, since the Aayog intends to put in place the ‘battery-as-a-service’ (BaaS) model. "I am confident that electric vehicles will be cheaper than ICE engine vehicles in the near future,” NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant was quoted as saying in an ET report on Saturday. This is in line with the announcement made by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in this regard during the Budget presentation. She had said a battery swapping policy for electric vehicle charging would be framed soon. Apart from a substantial cut in the cost of EVs, introduction of this model would also lay to rest the owners’ range anxiety and the worr...