Naveen Munjal interacts during CEO forum webinar series

It was one of the momentous days for students of Amity Greater Noida Campus and Amity International Business School when Mr. Naveen Munjal, Managing Director, Hero Electric Vehicles Pvt. Ltd interacted during the CEO Forum Webinar on the topic “Impact of COVID-19 on Automobile Industry. 
Prof. (Dr.) Gurinder Singh, Group Vice Chancellor, Amity Universities, Senior Academicians, Researchers and more than one thousand students from Amity University participated in this Webinar. 
During his lecture Mr. Naveen Munjal introduced about Hero Electric Vehicles and said that Hero Electric is pioneer and market leader in Indian Electric 2 Wheeler industry for over 10 years. Talking about market leadership, Mr. Munjal said it is a 4 step process – Innovation, Technology, Distribution and Service. Hero Electric has two segments Electric 2 Wheelers and Electric 3 Wheelers catering B2B vehicles, B2C Vehicles, Special Utility Vehicles. Mr. Mujal further stated that over 1.5 lakhs Electric Vehicles (EVs) were sold in India in 2019-20 which is 20% increase over 2018-19. 97% of these were e-scooters. 99% of electric vehicles in India are e-scooters and e-ricks. Globally passenger EV sales forecast is 1.7 million by end of year 2020 and 26 Million by 2030.
Mr. Munjal said that pollution is the biggest challenge for any country. India ranks number 3 globally for deaths caused by air pollution, 195 deaths per 1,00,000 people. Vehicular pollution in the NCR rose by 40% from 2010-2018. Mr. Mujal added that opportunity lies in the electricity. Close to 20% of India’s energy comes from renewable sources. Solar is the fastest growing sector, Hydro is the next most feasible source for India. Nuclear and renewable energy in tandem can provide for electricity to be used by EVs to make the cycle completely green i.e. emission free.
Mr. Munjal added that Electric 2 Wheelers rare the fastest mode to e-mobility. Even 10% conversion of petrol 2 wheelers to electric equals 2 million. Talking about COVID-19 factor, Mr. Munjal said due to present pandemic there is major fall in consumer demand and purchase. Automobile being one of the biggest to see the fall. There is no immediate bounce back in sight.  Financing of vehicles become tougher due to financial crunch caused at end of fiscal, supply chain and logistics has taken a drastic hit. But there are few positive outcomes also. Customers are shunning away public transport and opting for personal conveyance at similar cost – Electric 2 Wheelers (E2W) a major focus, even with higher upfront cost, due to lower overall cost of ownership and cost of running & maintenance.  E2W is more practical for 1st time users who are currently using public transport due to ease of use.     
Mr. Munjal further said that Electric 2 Wheeler is the right choice today as it has portable batteries which can be charged from home, stay away from crowded petrol pumps. Whether you ride single or with family member, you are sure that you are away from unknown and unwanted contacts. Electric 2 Wheelers is the future, closer than one can think, Mr. Munjal quoted that every tree planted saves close to 100 kg of CO2, but one electric bike if ridden for just 30 kms every day for 6 years helps save over 3000 kg of Carbon emission which is equal to planting 30 trees.
Mr. Munjal ended the lecture by saying that by 2040 electric vehicles could displace 17.6 million barrels per day of oil demand.