What is an EV Corridor? (Updated 7 Aug 2021)

An EV Corridor is a route which will be the most open to EV adoption. EV makers will be most effective around these routes. These routes have:

1. Very high Population Density &
2. Tourist routes & destinations
3. High Traffic Volume

Therefore Governments & EV makers should focus on building EV Infrastructure/HUBS/support along the route.

There are more than the above 3 reasons that EV makers should concentrate their Dealerships and Charging stations along these routes.

It makes a lot of sense to put 10 charging points along a highway than putting 100 around the city. This is because people usually start from house for work with a fully charged EV. The situation of range anxiety or low-battery happens during intercity/interstate travel.

The success of an EV maker depends upon the vehicle’s ability to travel interstate!

NexonEV has solved it to a great extent… because of their top-class customer support and coordination of their staff… without customer support even NexonEV would have failed to travel interstate!

Setting up the following Hubs along these routes are good ways an EV Maker can make good money for themselves, for EV Dealerships & for EV owners:.

• EScooter-Taxies
• Rent-A-Scooter businesses

• Amazon/Flipkart delivery business
• Food delivery business

Such companies will play a very important role in adoption of EVs in India because:

1. They usually own more than 10-20 Vehicles per business
2. They run approx 300kms daily compared to just 20kms for personal scooters.
3. Much moreMaintenance and parts overhaul will be required than personal scooter.
4. They will charge at least 3 times more from Charge Points and that too from fast charging networks.
5. They will use more than one battery since they don’t want a scooter standing idle and waiting till it is full charge. This means more profit for both.
6. They will also run through the battery life at least 10 times faster! So EV makers/dealers will make more money from such businesses.
7. They will create more jobs & increase profits for those who operate using petrol vehicles.

Right now these areas are where the population of India moves along. EV makers can easily use these routes as guide maps to create the above business along these highly populated zones and create jobs opportunities.

The EV maker might have to study the various models and set up centers which will provide guidance to investors and operators in eScooter TAXI, RENTING & DELIVERY business.

The EV makers should provide escooters at very affordable rates like Rs 1/km without big down payment based on the credit rating of the customer.

He can further rent it out at Rs2/km!

Since most of these vehicles run 100kms-300kms per day the EV Dealership can expect an income of not less than Rs 3,000 per scooter costing Rs 1Lakh per month. This is an income of Rs 36,000 on 1 Lakh and a Return On Investment (ROI) of 36%.

Compared to this Bank Fixed Deposits on Rs 1 Lakh is just 4.5% (Rs 4,500/yr) and falling every year.

If an individual invests Rs 20 Lakhs he will get an income of Rs Rs 60,000pm.

Or the EV maker could themselves run this 10 eScooer HUB with the investment from individuals and share it at 50:50 basis.

So even if the investor gets 18% ROI (30,000 pa) as passive income on an investment of 20 Lakhs it will be very good investment.

But Government should ENSURE that operators do NOT give DISCOUNTS/OFFERS or reduce tarrif below Govt stipulated Tarrif to undercut the existing operators. This inability of the Government to rein in Uber has destroyed a very vibrant Taxi Industry in India.

It is the JOB OF THE GOVERNMENT TO REGULATE the market and not allow private players to by-pass rules & tariff and prevent profiteering.

Operators like Uber/Ola has destroyed the Taxi Industry of India and created a lot of unpaid debts for the investors who invested in it with a 10lakh car and operated it but could not make proper profit from it.

If Government cannot regulate a business and make it follow the law it will create a lot of bad debts & suicides.

Individuals can be invited to invest in 5, 10 or 20 eScooters rental hubs with a loan from the bank. These eScooters can be managed/tracked by the owner with the help of the software provided by the company to track the kms of each scooter and how much is rent is due to him from the vehicle.

Such rented vehicles will need:

1. Commercial number plate
2. Enhanced security with  SIM or a GPS based tracking. (So the dealership can track the scooter down and confiscated if payments are not being made.)
3. EV company assistance/support– It should help/guide/assist the user in getting commercial number plate for his vehicle, Project Report, bank loan and also to confiscate the vehicle in case of non-payment of dues.

SWAP Stations, Charging Stations need to concentrate along these routes to engage more travelers and convert more Petrol Vehicles to Electric Vehicles.

Connecting India with less than 1000 charging points. Using this method India needs less than 1,000 Charging Stations to cover almost all major Roadways of India. This is huge considering India is the 7th largest country in land area.

The above route has the highest density of population in the country. The company that can Electrify these routes (ie provide 24×7 electricity for charging) will emerge as the leader.

Please Don’t copy ICE Dealership Model – The days of ICE Model of Dealership is over.

On one hand EV makers say their vehicles have far less moving components, less thermal issues, higher efficiency but want the EV owners to get their eScooter serviced at the same frequency as a petrol scooter!

When was the last time you serviced your mobile or laptop batteries? Duh? Do you even know how many charge cycles it has been through? Or do you keep checking the health of your mobile/laptop battery with a smartphone App? Have you taken elaborate subscription to ensure a flawless experience with a mobile/laptop?

EV Dealership should stop trying to make money as they did with the ICE Dealership Models. All EV dealerships are still trying to make money by offering Maintenance & Service for E-Vehicles. The best dealers are those who sell Warranties which do not even exists… some even add scooter pick up and Tyre Puncture Assistance.

The days of ICE Model of Dealership is over. Making money from Charging vehicles is not a very big solution. EV makers have to provide multiple services under their roof or around their premises.

4-Shop Model:

EV Makers should follow something like a 4Shop Model to provide multiple services under one Roof

Single Roof Multiple Services (4 Shop) Model

They should provide services like:

• E-Scooter booking
• E-Scooter delivery
• Scooter Pick-Up & drop (sales/repair/maintenance)
• Maintenance for all eScooters
• Tyre Repair & Sales for all 2Wheelers
• Charging bays for all eScooters/eCars
• E-Scooter rentals
• ScooterWash/CarWash
• Canteen/small Restaurant with Indian Breakfast/snack Menu

All these services are interconnected and depend upon each other but are interdependent and can be operated by Individual businesses.

The above services can be opened by a single dealer or 4 dealers in one building.

Therefore individuals with a house or shop on the main road along this route can be invited to setup 5Scooter, 10Scooter or 20Scooter rental hubs or shops.

Source of India’s Population data: https://geographyandyou.com/population-density-terms-geography-india/