Electric Vehicles Could Be Worse Than Petrol And Diesel Cars: Mercedes-Benz India CEO

Speaking to ETAuto, Folger said that the electric vehicles could be worse than the petrol and diesel cars, as more than 50 percent of electricity in India is produced from coal, which causes a lot more pollution. Mercedes India chief says that electric vehicles will curb pollution, only if the power comes from a cleaner source.

Folger said, "My question is if it is even right to have an 100% electric fleet by 2030? Does the government know what is the best technical solution and if so how do they know? My biggest problem is that nobody knows how the electricity required by these vehicles is produced."

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He further said that as per the data on electricity production in India, more than 50 percent of the energy is generated from coal, which is cheaper and the most polluting sources of power in the world.

The Government of India has an ambitious plan of shifting to pure electric vehicles by 2030 and has already commenced procuring electric cars. Indian automakers such as Mahindra and Tata Motors are already manufacturing EVs in the country.

India's leading passenger car manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki will also join the electric bandwagon and launch EVs by 2020. But the point made by Mercedes-Benz India chief also makes sense as the coal is worse than petrol and diesel.

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Currently, India is facing the worst of the pollution because of increase in vehicles. The electric vehicles are said to curb the pollution in a big way. So, the government is planning to shift to electric vehicles by 2030. But we should also think about the cleaner sources of power for the electric vehicles.