The first part of this article segmented the electric vehicles by powertrain and battery chemistry. The second part focuses on the two other segments – Vehicle types and End-Use Applications.
Vehicle Type
EVs are finding applications in different types of transport vehicles. Depending on the geography, some options are more popular than others. EVs can be classified as follows:
- Two-wheelers – These are the most popular mode of transportation in countries such as India, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and other Asian countries. Two-wheelers, contribute to almost 80% of the total automotive sales. There were around 380 electric vehicle manufacturers in India as of July 2021 which grew to an estimated 450 as of July 2022. Two-wheeler EVs make up approximately 30% of the overall EV market in India. Some key players today include Ather Energy, Hero Electric, Ola Electric, Okinawa Autotech and Ampere Vehicles. Many incumbent companies such as Bajaj, TVS, Honda are slowly making their way into the EV two-wheeler market. Many other startups such as Tork Motors, Revolt and others have also launched some of their own in the market.
- Four-wheelers - Representing the largest market globally as compared to other vehicle types, four-wheelers include passenger vehicles, light trucks and light commercial vehicles. In 2021, 6.75 Million four-wheeler EVs were sold globally. China led this growth with more than 3 million followed by Germany and the U.S. with close to 650,000 EVs sold. The EV penetration rate is still low in the US with 4.4%, ranking as the 3rd largest EV market in the world today. The EV penetration rates are higher in European economies, primarily because of the tax subsidies, favorable policies and falling costs. Norway represents the highest penetration with 86% of EV sales in the overall four-wheeler market in Norway. The major global EV car companies include Tesla BYD, Volkswagen Group, Nissan-Renault, Mitsubishi, Hyundai, General Motors, and Ford. Several promising startups, such as Rivian, Lucid, Faraday Future and many others, have already entered the EV race.
Figure 1: Illustration for different type of Electric Vehicles
- Electric Buses - An electric bus has lower global warming emissions than a diesel and natural gas bus, according to an analysis released in 2018 by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). In 2018, a new report, published by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, predicted a tripling of the number of electric buses by 2025. Electric bus adoption in the interest of public transport is growing all over the world. It started in China, and the transition is happening at different rates depending on the level of infrastructure inDifferent countries. For example:
- China – is the leader in terms of deployment of electric buses. It has more than 421,000 electric buses circulating in its cities. This huge demand for electric buses has led to a reduction of the demand for barrels of diesel by more than 270,000 barrels at the end of 2019. China’s expansion towards electric is set to continue, with an estimated 420,000 new electric buses purchased by 2025.
- India - In 2019, Delhi, the capital city of India placed an order for 1,000 electric buses. The country is planning to buy electric buses worth $10-billion to transform the public transport and curb pollution. Ashok Leyland, one of the large commercial vehicle companies in India, is working with Switch Mobility, which is its UK based electric mobility arm. India-based Olectra Greentech already has several hundred buses for public transportation in Indian cities. They were able to quickly enter the Indian bus market through their technology partner, BYD, which is one of the largest battery manufacturers in China.
- U.S. – According to Mordor Intelligence, there are close to 650 electric buses running in the United States. The market for electric buses, which was valued at around $500 million in 2021, is expected to grow at 40% CAGR until 2027. Emerging startup players which include Proterra, BYD Motors and New Flyer of America lead the North America electric bus market. Other companies include Blue Bird Corporation, Nova Bus Corporation, The Lion Electric Co., Thomas Built Buses, GreenPower, Collins Bus Corporation, and Trans Tech.
End Use Applications :
Electrical vehicles will find applications in many sectors as they get in the mainstream in future. Today some of the common Electrical Vehicles are finding applications in various sectors such as private, commercial, logistic and industrial sectors.
Figure 2: End Use Applications for Electric Vehicles
Personal EVs
Personal EVs are primarily the two and four-wheelers described earlier. Private owners use these vehicles for work commute, leisure and other travel purposes. As gas prices increase, privately owned Electric Vehicles will become economically viable as compared to their IC Engine counterparts in the long run. However, the challenge of building, charging infrastructure exists, and the deployment needs to be widespread and fast at the same time.
Commercial EVs
Commercial EVs mostly include three-wheelers and four-wheelers, such as city cabs, light and heavy trucks, and buses. Larger the size of the country, higher the need for commercial vehicles to transport goods. Commercial grade electric vehicles have even greater economic viability than personal EVs solely based on the sheer volume of their daily runs as public transport. In India, some examples of commercial EVs that are three-wheelers include Tata ULTRA T.7 Electric, Mahindra eSupro Van, Piaggio Ape E-Xtra and E-City and such.
There is a significant opportunity for energy saving in countries like the United States because of the vast area and commercial transportation network. BYD, the Chinese battery and electric vehicle company delivered their 100th battery electric truck in the US in 2020. A London based startup called Arrival is growing its presence in the US as it is attracting major investments for development of electric buses and vans. Other incumbents from the passenger car market like Daimler, Ford and Volvo are also focusing on building commercial trucks and vans in the US. Other startups such as Rivian, Nikola Motors and Tesla are working on the development of semi-trucks and vans for commercial applications.
Logistic and Delivery EVs
Logistics sector has begun adopting EVs at a much faster rate. They are finding applications in sectors such as e-commerce, food and grocery, and courier delivery. Few examples of logistic and last-minute delivery companies that use EVs include Zypp, Rapido (two-wheeler) and Zyngo (three-wheeler) in India. Some companies, like Etrio, are retrofitting IC engine vehicles with batteries for last mile deliveries. IKEA was their first client and now other e-commerce companies, such as Amazon, Flipkart, Big Basket and Delhivery, are their customers. In the United states, several delivery and logistics companies are planning to replace their gas powered fleets with electric or low emission vehicles. Mail and courier delivery services such as UPS, Fedex and US Postal Service are all going electric sooner or later. Amazon is buying 100,000 EDVs from Rivian. Automakers such as Ford, General Motors and Rivian are focusing on delivery vehicles to meet the burgeoning demand.
Industrial EVs
In the industrial sector, electric vehicles are the ideal solution for industrial applications due to their high-performance levels, robustness, and high degrees of autonomy. Due to their suitability for intensive use, they are ideal for various applications ranging from transport to logistics, machinery maintenance, and for warehouse logistics management. They can be potentially used in hazardous environments. Their load & towing capacity along with flexible mobility in ramps and narrow aisles allows them to be always operational for continuous work shifts. Warehouses and manufacturing plants are perfect for EV adoption because of their controlled environment and access to charging infrastructure. Forklifts and other material handling equipment are prominently used in such industrial applications and are the key products for electrification. Some examples of Industrial Evs in India include - Godrej NEO 4 Wheel Electric Forklift, Om Voltas XE25, Hyster-Yale and such. Companies such as Hyster-Yale and Clark Material Handling in the US and TCM in the Europe produce electric forklifts and other material handling equipment for the Industrial sector.
