Revving up a new electric engine for growth

Technology can be such a great leveler and beneficial for any economy, especially if it comes at just the right place and time. And nothing sums this up better than the relentless drive of the seemingly endless growing popularization of electric cars.

On a recent trip to Hong Kong, I caught up with an old classmate, Ashok, a successful investment banker, for dinner at a popular eatery on the city’s Nathan Road. He excitedly dropped into the conversation that he had just treated himself to buying a Tesla S — I insisted on him taking me for spin.

Amazingly quiet compared with conventional vehicles, the pace at which electric cars are capturing market share in Hong Kong is staggering. Take a while to look out for them, and you’ll see what I mean.

I had actually encountered my first electric car in the early 2000s, as a business reporter in the southern Indian city of Chennai, interviewing Chetan Maini, a young tycoon from my hometown Bengaluru.

A rare sight, that early morning drive in his “Reva” (an acronym for “Revolutionary Electric Vehicle Alternative) was great. More than a few heads were turned as we weaved our quiet way through the city’s bustling traffic.

Maini’s pride and joy was small, compact — the purrfect city-center runabout.

Unfortunately, however, its arrival on the scene was at a time when many parts of India were facing electricity shortages, and charging places were as rare as hen’s teeth.

Although a few thousand were bought, Maini ultimately sold the business to Mahindra and Mahindra in 2010. Clearly a case of technology trying to make its mark ahead of time.

But, oh, how times have changed. Late last year, Indian transport minister Nitin Gadkari boldly predicted the country would be a 100 percent Ullattil Manranjith electric-vehicle nation by 2030. The growing sight of more and more Mahindra “e2os” on Bengaluru roads just shows the pace of their popularity.

In sharp contrast to Hong Kong though, the mainland has strangely proved as yet to be a relative latecomer to this silent-engined revolution.

Backed heavily by a slew of innovative policies promoting their purchase, however, the country is becoming a growing battery-powered destination of choice, not only for domestic companies such as the ubiquitous BYD and BAIC models, but also for global giants such as BMW and Tesla.

Electric-car sales in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen in Guangdong province, Tianjin, Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, and Guangzhou in Guangdong province are increasing at two to four times the national average, and individuals rather than governments and electric car-sharing users are leading the race.

Those six cities accounted for 40 percent of China’s total 579,000 electric-car sales last year and 21 percent of the world’s total, a recent Bloomberg report tells us.

The study adds the government’s energies to phase out petrol- or diesel-powered cars through restrictions, and license plate curbs are also sparking interest in going electric.

Creating a huge network of charging stations and other related infrastructure has become a priority.

“I have never regretted my decision for a moment to buy my Tesla,” Ashok said, as we whispered along on our test trip. But the real clincher was when I asked him whether there was any real difference between a gasoline-powered vehicle and an EV.

“My Tesla’s a commuter’s dream. My gasoline days are well and truly over,” he added. I suspect many millions of dedicated petrolheads will be having the same thought.