Starting in 2030, India will only sell electric vehicles; SoftBank and Foxconn will enter the Indian renewable energy market. While President Trump announced the US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, India's energy sector announced that, in order to combat increasingly severe air pollution, India plans to sell only electric vehicles after 2030. CNNMoney reports that as a developing country, India's economy is growing at an astonishing rate, but with continued industrial and transportation development, severe air pollution has followed. Studies estimate that air pollution causes approximately 1.2 million deaths annually in India; one doctor even described breathing in New Delhi as "like smoking 10 cigarettes a day." Beyond air pollution, India's booming economy has also made it the world's third-largest oil importer, spending nearly $150 billion (approximately NT$4.5 trillion) annually on oil. The development of electric vehicles will significantly reduce oil demand; therefore, the Indian government announced that after 2030, every car sold in India must rely on electricity, not oil. To achieve its goals, India launched the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan, aiming to reach annual sales of 6-7 million electric and hybrid vehicles by 2020. Energy Minister Piyush Goyal stated that the government would provide subsidies to support growth in the early stages of the electric vehicle market, but afterwards, automakers would have to rely on market demand to drive production increases. This is undoubtedly very good news for electric vehicle giant Tesla. Although Tesla has not yet entered the Indian market, Elon Musk immediately tweeted after the news broke, praising the Indian government's support for environmentally friendly energy industries such as solar power and electric vehicles. Following Musk's tweet, the CEO of Mahindra, India's largest electric vehicle manufacturer, also tweeted, welcoming Tesla, a strong competitor, to join the fray as soon as possible: "Musk, you should come! You don't want to hand over the entire market to Mahindra, do you? More people means more fun, and it's also more environmentally friendly." To improve air pollution, the Indian government has been trying various measures. In January 2016, the New Delhi government announced a "one-day-off" driving rule for men, with the number of days allowed to drive determined by the odd or even last digit of their license plate. Single women, on the other hand, were allowed to be driven every day. This regulation has been very successful in reducing air pollution. However, once the market shifts to pure electric vehicles, it will have an even more positive impact on the environment. According to a report by the World Economic Forum, after implementing this plan, India is expected to reduce carbon emissions by 37% by 2030. SB Energy, a joint venture between Japan's SoftBank, Foxconn, and India's Bharti Airtel, will invest $20 billion in India to compete in the Indian renewable energy market, including solar power and electric vehicle charging. Following the US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, India has stated its continued commitment to achieving emission reduction targets under the agreement and actively developing renewable energy. Consequently, SoftBank, Foxconn, and Bharti Airtel, India's largest telecom company, recently established SB Energy, planning to invest $20 billion in India's renewable energy market. SB Energy has already secured two major projects in Bhadla Solar Industrial Park, India's largest solar industrial park. A senior executive at SoftBank's Indian operations also revealed yesterday that SoftBank is in negotiations with India to utilize renewable energy sources such as solar power to charge electric vehicles manufactured in India. The Modi government recently announced that India aims to replace all cars with electric vehicles within the next 15 years. Therefore, SB Energy, a joint venture between SoftBank, Foxconn, and Bharti Airtel, will focus on developing renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power and become a power supplier for India's electric vehicle program. It is estimated that India may need 150 megawatts (GW) of solar power to achieve full electrification, and India also plans to produce 100 GW of solar power by 2022. However, SoftBank, Foxconn, and Bharti Airtel face significant challenges in gaining a foothold in India's solar and electric vehicle power generation markets. This is mainly because electric vehicles in India are still hampered by expensive batteries. Even with substantial subsidies, insufficient charging infrastructure hinders the widespread adoption of electric vehicles in India. Source: CSRone Sustainability Report Platform (2017-06-06)
