Business Research Methods

Opportunity in Adversity : Is climate change triggering Sustainable Business Opportunities in the Indian
Automobile Space ?

Group 6 : The Beard & Geared Co. PTMBA 2018-2020, SBM, NMIMS
Business Research Methods
Opportunity in Adversity : Is climate change triggering Sustainable Business Opportunities in the Indian
Automobile Space ?
Objective of the Business Research Study

M/s. Legrand, the French Conglomerate leading the Electrical Equipment & Cable Management
system space globally is envisioning a Strategic Business Roadmap to launch Electric Vehicles
Charging Stations in India.

The objective of this research study is to present to the Legrand Leadership Team about the
viability of introducing the product in the Indian Market, the various Strategies to adopt for such
a highly welcome product & an extreme necessity of India today. The study will statistically
understand whether India , or whether Legrand is future ready for the Indian market with India
Inc. at the helm of the Vision 2020 & Make in India initiatives, also parallely battling with the
2019 Elections Kurukshetra in place.

The story of Electric Vehicles is perhaps as old as that of electricity itself. Surprisingly, the
concept & physics of electric vehicles was discovered first & precludes that of the Electric grid
itself, the very interface through which electricity interacts with us (distribution network).

We would be dazzled to know that in the early 1900’s, Electric cars made upto 28% of the
market share of the total automobile market in the US. We know that the current day Tesla
Motors rules the roost in style , passion & innovation in the Electric Vehicle space, but did we
know that Studebaker Automobile Company, a Norwegian futuristic Automobile Company
entered the US market in 1902, with the mission of producing Electric Only cars ? By 1910’s the
EV industry in the US & Europe firmly was in the decline due to the disruptive innovation
caused by the Gasoline Powered Vehicles due to Easy availability of fuel, no limitations on the
vehicles range, non viability of EV charging infrastructure, affordability and the likes. To our
pleasant surprise, the Earth is Round and the human race is going back to where it started, the
Electric Vehicles.

The following causal & descriptive research will discuss more about the State of the Indian
Electric Vehicles (EV) industry , the megatrends shaping the EV evolution & revolution and the
business outlook at various EV segments in India.

Group 6 : The Beard & Geared Co. PTMBA 2018-2020, SBM, NMIMS
Business Research Methods
Opportunity in Adversity : Is climate change triggering Sustainable Business Opportunities in the Indian
Automobile Space ?
Literature Review

1. Global Electric Vehicle Industry

Global Electric Vehicle (EV) unit sales are projected to grow by a CAGR of 36% between now
& 2025 (Needham, 2015), prices are likely to decline, as innovations bring down the cost of
production, value growth being at a more modest CAGR of 31%. Globally, Norway will be
second to USA in Electric Vehicle Industry by 2021 by becoming 100% Electric; interesting they
are at 60% Electric Vehicles in their country at present.

The proliferation of Electric Vehicles are expected to spur the explosive growth of many other
allied industries – battery tech, advanced materials, charging infrastructure, power management
software, value added riding services etc. EVs are fast closing their range gap vis – a – vis
conventional vehicles (ICE), Average EV range (1 charge) currently at 332 km (110km in 2015),
relative to 1200km (full gasoline tank) for an Internal Combustion Engine.

Power Train industry leaders such as Bosch expect manufacturing costs for all classes of EVs to
fall by a cumulative 27% over the next five years. A further 20% cost efficiency in battery
manufacture expected ; cumulative lifetime costs of EV to match that of an Internal Combustion
Engine by 2024.

Charging infrastructure will be becoming easier to build ; New EVs can be charged at home ,
easier charging to encourage faster adoption, especially in developing markets such as India.
Bank of America expects EV charging ecosystem, on its own, to be worth $400 billion in value
by 2025.

According to (Jha, 2019), the six factors identified that drive EV adoption by consumers are :

1. Charging of EVs : Quick & Ubiquitous

2. Affordability : Price Differential with respect to Internal Combustion Engine
3. Awareness of Benefits in terms of Environmental Impact & Urban Congestion
4. Range > 320 km
5. Model Availability across all riding segments

Group 6 : The Beard & Geared Co. PTMBA 2018-2020, SBM, NMIMS
Business Research Methods
Opportunity in Adversity : Is climate change triggering Sustainable Business Opportunities in the Indian
Automobile Space ?
6. Regulations & Incentives to EV adoption

Opportunities in the Industry Value Chain :

A. Essential Metals :
 Currently valued at $400 million & expected to grow to $5.6 billion by 2025.
 High Entry Barriers
 Industry concentrated between few mining & refining majors
 Very few alternatives currently
 Players : Glencore, Bacanora, BHP Billiton
B. Battery & Battery Tech :
 Currently valued at $8.9 billion & expected to grow to $48.5 billion
 Moderate Entry Barriers
 R&D intensive , high fixed cost, low variable cost
 Can be disrupted by technological breakthroughs
 25% CAGR
 Battery recycling will be another attractive opportunity for startups
C. Electric Vehicles (2W EVs and Cars) :
 Currently valued at $39.2 billion & expected to grow to $235.7 billion by 2025
 Cars remain a capital intensive industry
 Except for Tesla, everyone else is a auto major
 Besides partnerships, a strong offline distribution network, customer service and
branding are vital to succeed
 2W EV market is highly fragmented
 Functional Product
 Ideal for Developing markets
 B2B opportunities can be explored
D. Charging Systems :
 Currently valued at $2 billion & expected to grow to $9.9 billion by 2025
 Utilities firms likely to be first movers
 Europe dominates the global market
 CapEx intensive industry

Group 6 : The Beard & Geared Co. PTMBA 2018-2020, SBM, NMIMS
Business Research Methods
Opportunity in Adversity : Is climate change triggering Sustainable Business Opportunities in the Indian
Automobile Space ?
 There is potential for innovative startups, especially for the production of
charging kits & power management systems for charging stations
 Load management systems for households are another potential area of entry
 Smart Grid Solutions & fleet management consulting are other potential areas for
VCs to invest.

2. Indian Electric Vehicle Industry

As per Legrand ThinkTank Research, (Legrand), Indian Automobile industry is currently the 5th
largest in the world & is set to take over as the 3rd largest automobile industry by 2030. There are
a range of players operating in India as shown below :

Passenger 2 Wheelers 3 Wheelers Commercial Tractors

Vehicles Vehicles

Number of OEMs

15 13 7 12 17

Number of Manufacturing Units

29 22 7 34 20

2.1 Strategic Imperatives to look at EVs

a. Carbon (CO2) Emissions will fall by 27% by 2030
b. Fuel Security Risks fall by 64% by 2030
c. Power Demand will be lower

Group 6 : The Beard & Geared Co. PTMBA 2018-2020, SBM, NMIMS
Business Research Methods
Opportunity in Adversity : Is climate change triggering Sustainable Business Opportunities in the Indian
Automobile Space ?
2.2 Indian EV Ecosystem

PMO Narendra Modi’s office in collaboration with the Quality Council of India chaired by Ex
McKinsey Chairman, Mr. Adil Zainulbhai have developed a Transformative Policy Model called
‘ NITI AYOG’ which is mandated to set out the transformative mobility mission for India. NITI
AYOG will cater to the following departments with different policy rollout & implications :

1. Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises

2. Ministry of Power & Renewable Energy
3. Ministry of Urban Development
4. Ministry of Finance
5. Ministry of Roads & National Highways
6. Department of Science & Technology
2.3 Indian Electric Vehicles Current Market Overview

Current electric vehicle market is at a very nascent stage with only 1-2 serious players (Mahindra
& TATA). There are about 7100 cars on roads since introduction of the first electric vehicle in
2001 by Mahindra (REVA). It is projected that the EV sales will be estimated to 10-12 million
units by 2026. So, (Legrand) has done their primary research on using their expertise, experience
& exposure in the Electrification space to estimate opportunities in the EV Charging Units Sales
Revenue Model in India. The research has been done with keeping the Govt. initiatives also in
consideration which will spur up further sales & growth.

Works Cited
Jha, S. (2019). The EV Revolution. YourStoryResearch, 32.

Legrand. (n.d.). India EV Story Emerging Opportunities for Legrand Green up solutions.

Needham. (2015). Global EV Markets . Citi Research.

Group 6 : The Beard & Geared Co. PTMBA 2018-2020, SBM, NMIMS
Business Research Methods
Opportunity in Adversity : Is climate change triggering Sustainable Business Opportunities in the Indian
Automobile Space ?

Group 6 : The Beard & Geared Co. PTMBA 2018-2020, SBM, NMIMS