'EVs' Running Costs Are 1/3rd Compared To CNG': Anmol Jaggi
In an interaction with Urvi Shrivastav, Editorial Lead, BW ESG, Anmol Jaggi, Co-founder, Blusmart, speaks about the rise and relevance of EVs, their efficiency, while dispelling myths around the same.
Excerpts:
What are the issues Blusmart is trying to solve?
BluSmart is decarbonising mobility by providing all-electric ride-hailing service to its customers. Fundamentally, BluSmart is successfully solving issues plaguing the industry right from the customer side such as surge pricing, ride denials, substandard customer experience to the drivers side such as the financial burden of asset ownership, dwindling earnings, rising fuel cost etc. BluSmart is the only ride-hailing service in the country that ensures zero-emission, zero surge and zero denials to its customers and zero financial investment from its driver-partners.
How far has Blusmart been successful?
Since its launch in July 2019, BluSmart has become the most preferred and the most reliable ride-hailing service across Delhi NCR having covered 40+ million zero-emission km, having completed 1.2+ million zero-emission trips with 450,000+ BluSmart app downloads. BluSmart has since saved over 2500+ Tonnes of CO2 equivalent to what 125,000+ fully grown trees absorb in a year. BluSmart has also done key strategic partnerships with Jio-BP for setting up EV charging stations across the country.
What is the future of EVs in India?
We believe that EVs will lead the automobile and mobility industry in the country in the next 4-5 years. The EV ecosystem, especially charging infrastructure, is growing rapidly with the support from the government. The total cost of ownership of EVs will be better than its ICE counterparts owing to rising fuel cost, pollution and declining battery costs. All in all, the future of mobility is electric vehicles.
What is Blusmart's role in it/ what percentage of market share will you capture?
BluSmart is a pioneer in setting up the required EV charging infrastructure in the country to support its ride-hailing platform and public use. We have set up more than 10 superhubs in Delhi NCR with each catering 80-100 EVs simultaneous charging and parking facility. BluSmart has also been selected by the Government of Delhi to set up EV charging stations across public spaces such as metro stations to electrify the capital and boost EV adoption. BluSmart is the leader in electric mobility with 1000+ EVs operating on its platform and with the planned addition over the coming time and will continue to lead the pack.
What are the expansion plans for the brand?
BluSmart is keen on expanding its operations to other metro cities and plans to increase its presence to 2 new metros by this year-end. We have recently raised $ 35 million from IREDA for financing of 3000+ EVs which will add to our momentum of increasing our geographical reach.
What are the common misconceptions about electric vehicles?
EVs were long thought out to be more expensive, high maintenance, and unsafe than its ICE counterparts but that can’t be further from the truth. EV’s running costs are 1/3rd compared to CNG and 1/6th that of diesel vehicle meaning that the total cost of owning an EV despite its relatively high purchase price is lower than that of an ICE vehicle. Moreover, EVs are relatively less complicated and easy to maintain as they have less moving parts which also makes them a lot safer than the current ICE cars.
