Wion World Pulse: ‘We need to move to sustainable mobility as fast as possible’: Vikram Gulati

The number of cars on the road is going to increase phenomenally and so will the energy import bills, and hence we need to move to sustainable mobility as fast as possible, said Vikram Gulati, Country Head & EVP (Corporate Affairs & Governance), Toyota Kirloskar Motor. He was addressing ‘Auto Pulse: The Future of Mobility,’ the automobile segment of the WION World Pulse summit in New Delhi on Wednesday (Mar 18).

“Last calendar year, car sales in India were around 4.5 million, a six per cent growth year on year, and a penetration rate of 30 people per thousand. At the pace at which we are growing, and the market we see ahead, the number of cars on the road is going to increase phenomenally,” said Gulati.

The market is very diverse and the needs of customers are very different, he said, adding, “At Toyota, we are looking at the end objective of decarbonisation, our goal is to achieve a life cycle of zero-carbon by 2050. Therefore, we believe that we need to move to sustainable mobility as fast as possible.”

There would be multiple clean, sustainable technologies that would be needed, and so we need to act with speed and scale now, the Country Head & EVP, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said.

Reflecting on the competition between traditional fuel and electric, and hybrid vehicles, Gulati said the advantage is with incumbent technology, as petrol and diesel have been around for a hundred years, but the gap is closing fast because of technology evolution and the declining cost of key components in electric cars like batteries, besides scale, and the huge support the government is giving, like just five per cent of GST. In addition, state governments are also giving incentives.

“With the new evolving technologies like flex fuel vehicles, there is no need for new infrastructure, and the fuel is also indigenous, so that can be a game changer for sustainability and self-reliance in energy going forward,” Gulati said.