By Mr. Umair Nabeel, Renewable Energy and Environment Entrepreneur
By the time this article will be published, 2021 will have witnessed its first sunrise. So, as the title suggests and I quote Forbes magazine in part, 2020 indeed proved to be the year when electric vehicles “came of age”. It was the tipping point, on all fronts. From supply chains to sales, from the technology(design stage, test drives, credible performance data) all the way to the commercial/business side of things. New ventures and the rise of related industries gaining traction, our silent assassins rose to the challenge.
So let’s press ahead and dedicate January 2021 edition to global news updates. And why not start from Pakistan. The federal government headed by PM Imran Khan, has followed up on their “renewable energy policy 2020” with the country’s first ever, “ ELECTRIC VEHICLE POLICY 2020” . A proud moment indeed and a stumbling block cleared out of the way for the establishment of our own electric vehicles fully integrated industry. For companies covering the entire spectrum of this field whether it be lithium-ion battery manufacturers, RnD firms, battery data and analytics, EV assembly and manufacturing, contract manufacturing, consultancy, regulatory framework, ride sharing e-cabs etc, now is the time to zero in on Pakistan’s untapped integrated EV industry.
Global News Desk: Germany, a country leading the pack in EU registered an accumulated(end 2019) figure of 2.1 GWH of lithium-ion battery storage covering all three market segments . Residential sector lead the way with the biggest share, not surprised since this has been my argument from day one (VPP). Staying in Europe, the EU Commission plans to amp up, the number of electric vehicles on its roads from approximately 1.4 million right now to 30 million by 2030. Citing a report by Bloomberg NEF, the draft document is part of a wider goal of net zero emissions which legislators hope to pass and make EU law soon. This can only help all market stakeholders, an addition to the subsidies already in place and being rolled out for both the consumer and manufacturer(details in previous articles).
Corsica, a beautiful coastal French city which attracts millions of tourists every year now finds itself as the next big hub of the “smart cities “ concept being put into practice. A partnership between X-Charge and Hertz (cab company operated by Filippi Auto ) is set to become the biggest EV rental cab service project. Service points across Corsica will now have battery recharging stations (similar to a fuel dispenser for ICE vehicles) installed allowing flexibility in clean, green and uninterrupted commute to not just the millions of tourists the city attracts every year, but also the residents.
Signing off, I’ll leave my readers with a list (in part) of pipeline electric vehicles set to be rolled out in 2021. TAKE YOUR PICK.
