Strategies for the introduction of alternative fuel vehicles in India

Abstract

Rapid growth in population and increase in disposable income has led to a robust increase in automotive sales in India. As in many parts of the world, the internal combustion engines are the dominant vehicle power train in India. This has led to increase in tailpipe emissions in congested cities as well as increased consumption of crude oil. India needs to devise effective strategies to introduce fuel efficient nonpolluting Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFV) to reduce GHG emissions and reduce oil consumption. In 2013, the Government of India unveiled a National Electric Mobility Mission Plan to promote AFV sales in India in a coordinated manner. Many similar, well-intentioned programs have been tried in the past. However, the creation of sustainable AFV markets has remained a challenge. This work presents the development of a multiplatform system dynamics model that helps one explore the dynamics of adoption of AFVs in Indian context. Using the model we explore three unique policy scenarios where the adoption of AFVs is studied. We show that the successful AFV adoption is dependent not just on providing demand side incentives, but also on promoting the creation of the refueling infrastructure. Results also show that Plug in Hybrid Electric Vehicle has the potential to be the dominant alternative fuel vehicle platform in India provided effective policies are in place.