A rapidly changing technology landscape, shifting customer preferences, increasing demand for connectivity and digitisation have become important factors for shaping the ‘Future of Mobility’.
To build inclusive, safer, and more sustainable cities of tomorrow, technology play a decisive role in identifying mobility gaps and transforming existing transportation services.
The future of mobility is clean, connected, shared and seamless – everything a smart city should offer. Mobility of the future will provide consumers a new paradigm for their commutes by reducing cost per km, lowering congestion (through automation) and improving productivity—all while helping protect the environment.
Realising the urgent need to re-think and revisit transport infrastructure and fuel dependency as well as the potential of EVs in doing this, the Indian government announced its plans to make the country a 100% EV nation by 2030. In line with this, in Union Budget 2018, the government allocated $40.5 million towards the development of electric and hybrid vehicles in the country. The shift to electric vehicles could potentially help India save up to $300Bn (INR 20 Lakh Cr) in oil imports and nearly one giga-tonne of carbon dioxide emissions by 2030.
The Indian electric car market size was valued at $71.1 million in 2017 and is projected to reach $707.4 million by 2025, witnessing a CAGR of 34.5% during the forecast period. Government schemes and subsidies are playing a major role in the growth of the market. In addition, the growing environmental concerns owing to high pollution levels in major cities of the country are also positively affecting the market growth.
Electric mobility can also be expected to have an impact on how future Indian cities will need to be designed. For instances, Karnataka government aims to convert half of the government-run vehicles in Bengaluru to electric by 2019 end. It is also amending the building bylaws to mandate 10-20% parking space for EV charging points.
Connected Mobility & Autonomous Vehicle
Shared and connected mobility paradigms are expected to reshape the evolution of this sector. New technology-based solutions, business models and players are expected to revolutionize the sector.
Yet more needs to be done. Increased internet bandwidth and connectivity have a part to play in India’s transformation. Cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IoT) are a necessary prerequisite for modern transport systems.
According to a white paper released by CISCO IoT & MG Motors, the value of the connected mobility market could reach a size of $3 Billion USD by 2020 in India. Currently, only 2% of cars in India are considered connected cars. Globally, the size of the connected mobility market is projected to grow to $175 Billion by 2020, as against $44 Billion in 2015.
According to Gartner, a quarter of a billion connected cars will be on the road by 2020. With India is clearly emerging as a market for autonomous cars, the years ahead will see an increasing appetite for apps and platforms that keep Indian consumers connected while on the go.
Shared Mobility
By 2025, the number of vehicles is estimated to grow globally by an astounding 150 percent. In India alone, the number of cars in India will increase to about 35 cars per 1,000 population by 2025. This would amount to approximately 45–60 million cars on the road and in some cities more than 300 cars per 1,000 people.
This exponential growth will have tremendous impact on energy consumption, air pollution, road safety, congestion and equity—impacts that many cities are already witnessing. Innovative businesses involved with car share, vanpool, electric and autonomous vehicles and public transit apps (and more) can play a key role in offering and encouraging sustainable transport options.
According to a report by Morgan Stanley, India is expected to be a leader in shared mobility by 2030 as rising share of electric and autonomous vehicles will improve shared mile economics. By 2030, the shared miles are expected to reach 35 per cent of all the miles travelled in India and this will further increase to 50 per cent by 2040.
India offers all the right ingredients to be one of the largest shared mobility markets in the world as it has large population clusters, a young demographic that is well-connected to the internet and rising real incomes.
High Speed Rail
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train will be first high-speed rail project in India which is funded by a 50-year loan of INR 88,000Cr from Japan. The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train will be built on an elevated corridor by a state-run Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The High-Speed Rail Corporation (HSRC) of India was set up by the government in 2012 to design and implement the country’s high-speed projects. Simultaneously, the government has pushed ahead with plans to develop a Rs.980 billion, 505 km segment between Ahmedabad and Mumbai on which it will run “bullet” trains, as high-speed trains.
The benefits include reduced journey times that impact individuals and business, connectivity benefits to populations & markets, increased passenger comfort, mode shifts from more polluting air, road transport and consequently lower road congestion.
There are also plan to run a high-speed bullet train between Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Kolkata, Mumbai-Chennai, Delhi-Chennai via Nagpur, Mumbai-Kolkata via Nagpur and Chennai-Bangalore-Mysore.
