It was exactly a week ago when I landed in Varanasi & received a never-before airport pickup from a new relative. But it wasn’t any old car that picked me up—it was an electric car. A Tata Nexon, actually. EVs have become more common on Indian streets than one would've thought even a couple of years ago. In November alone, India crossed the 40K EV sales mark—a remarkably high number given that EVs aren't cheap and people aren't getting richer in these pandemic-ridden times.
During the drive back home, though, I learnt that one overnight charge (in an apartment) could get you about 200km on the Nexon. So the one-time investment is worth it; plus, it's a sustainable vehicle, as I was reminded. If you've been getting your dose of The MMS this holiday season, you would know that over the last few days, we've been busy putting out several webinar (go check them all out now if you haven't already!). Today's is on the much-talked-about EV space across India and Southeast Asia. And let me tell you something: The EV enthusiasm will not die down in 2022. Au contraire.
We talked about what will make the new age vehicles tick in the coming year. They'll take you through the early "honeymoon stage" of EVs in SE Asia—bar Vietnam thanks to VinFast moving fast—and how Gojek in Indonesia is building out an ecosystem to jump at the opportunity. Comeback to India, while Ather continues to sell and Ola Electric starts up—albeit, with a few missing features—there are bigger EV battles being fought at the Tata, Jio-BP level.
Also, we're taking tomorrow off on account of NYE, and we'll be back with a fresh round of stories on Monday with cough and cold, the NEW YEAR OMG. Have a great start to 2022 together with Mumbai Multimedia Studio www.multimediastudio.net