Global Mobility Summit Day 1: Industry leaders discuss electric mobility project

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s first Move Summit 2018 at a conference in New Delhi, today. The global mobility summit was organised by the NITI Aayog.

In his inaugural speech to the speakers, the Prime Minister laid down 7Cs that according to him are essential for the future of mobility in India. These 7Cs are ‘Common’, ‘Connected’, ‘Convenient’, Congestion-free’. ‘Charged’, ‘Clean’, and ‘Cutting Edge’.

Keeping the Indian populous in mind, he said that mobility stands beyond cars, it extends to scooters and rickshaws as well.

Further elaborating on the 7Cs, he said that companies must look for a breakthrough in battery technology to help drive investment across ‘value chain’ which includes smart charging, electric vehicles, and batteries.

He further added “mobility is a key driver of the economy. Better mobility reduces the burden of travel and transportation and economic growth. It is already a major employer and can create the next generation of jobs.” Thereby laying down the significance of mobility and the promise it holds for future generations.

Some of the themes that will be discussed during the two-day summit are ‘comprehensive electrification and alternative fuels’, ‘reinventing public transport’, ‘goods transport and logistics’, ‘data analytics and mobility’, and ‘mobility in cities: practitioners’ perspective’.

On day one, the summit saw participation by automobiles manufacturers from around the world such as Anand Mahindra, from the Mahindra Group, Osamu Suzuki from Suzuki Motor Corp, Bhavish Aggarwal, from Ola, Euisun Chung from Hyundai, etc.

The speakers spoke about the investments in India regarding the electric mobility project. However, there was an underlying concern for the need of EV policies and an infrastructure for charging electric vehicles.

Meanwhile, Suzuki’s Osamu Suzuki announced the running test of 50 EV prototype from next month in India keeping the Indian traffic in mind. However, he also elaborated on the need for sufficient charging infrastructure and ‘proactive leadership’ in this matter.

He further announced that it will begin production of Li-ion batteries in Gujarat in 2020 and will launch electric vehicles in India in 2020 with Toyota.

Meanwhile, Anand Mahindra, chairman of the Mahindra Group proposed a MOOV app—digital platform at the level of public-private partnership level for ease in inclusive mobility.