Growing environmental consciousness and the adverse effects of climate change, are propelling governments to support initiatives towards the development of eco-friendly mobility solutions including electric vehicles. Efforts have to be made to orient the use of electric vehicles to niche situations and markets where their limitations can be leveraged by design.
MumbaiItalian scooter and three-wheeler maker Piaggio has reintroduced the iconic scooter brand Vespa in India. In its new avatar, Vespa will be placed in the premium segment, a first in India, claims Piaggio. The scooter will be priced at R66,661, ex-showroom Maharashtra.
“Right now, there is no premium segment in the Indian scooter market, but we believe ther is a significant number of brand conscious young people who would like to make a statement,” said Ravi Chopra, chairman and managing director, Piaggio Vehicles. “Vespa is creating a premium segment by targetting those customers.”
Big batteries are weighing down electric vehicles and it’s unlikely that subsidies can lighten that load to make them a viable non-polluting alternative
Energy security is a major challenge that needs imaginative and innovative solutions for a country like India. Therefore, options for diversification of fuels and energy sources need to be pursued vigorously to enhance the economic growth rate for socio-economic development.
The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has planned to add 700 Tata BS4 buses by March 31, but so far managed only 263.
According to BMTC managing director K R Sreenivas, there has been a delay in supply of the buses from Tata. “Since BS4 uses a new technology, the suppliers have not been able to manufacture in the numbers we require,” he said.
AHMEDABAD: The city has over 30 lakh vehicles, which include 20 lakh two-wheelers. This is 22 per cent of the total vehicles registered in Gujarat, the state assembly on Thursday was informed by urban development minister Nitin Patel in his reply to Naroda MLA Mayaben Kodnani's question.
The minister said that to ease off congestion on the city roads, the government has taken measures like Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) and Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar Metro project.
Three more cities are switching over to Bharat Stage (BS)-4 emission norms from Thursday. These cities are Ankaleshwar in Gujarat, Hisar in Haryana and Bharatpur in Rajasthan.
Already 13 cities, including Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Surat, Kanpur, Agra, Lucknow and Solapur are implementing the BS-4 emission norms from 2010 when the national auto fuel policy was announced.
New Delhi A specialised body for promoting sustainable development of the Indian auto sector, dubbed the National Automotive Board, is likely to be set up by April.
"The proposed National Automotive Board (NAB), which is being finalised by the Department of Heavy Industry, is likely to be cleared by the Cabinet in a month," an official said.
