Converting combustion engines to EVs to improve air quality

DW (English)

A company in Coimbatore converts gasoline and diesel cars, trucks and two wheelers to electric vehicles. It cuts emissions and improves air quality in cities. Tradespeople especially are signing up. The initiative is also empowering women.

Transcript

00:01You only need to pay 38,000 Indian rupees, around 400 euros, to convert a petrol vehicle into an electric one.

00:08It takes one and a half hours. One liter of petrol costs around 100 rupees.

00:13With electric, it costs just 10 rupees for 50 kilometers.

00:19A petrol scooter turned into an electric one in just 90 minutes, the time it would normally take to service the vehicle.

00:27With a degree in engineering, Sivasankari TP is breaking new ground in India's male-centric automotive business.

00:37Why is this conversion so important? That's a question we get a lot.

00:41The government is going to implement a scrapping policy designed to take old polluting vehicles off the road to reduce India's carbon footprint.

00:49They will offer consumer only two options. Either you get a fitness certificate for your vehicle or you have to scrap it.

00:56So why not convert it into an electric vehicle?

01:02AR for Tech is based in Coimbatore, a hub for automotive suppliers in the state of Tamil Nadu.

01:09The company is targeting a key market.

01:11If you look at the census, there are about 230 million two-wheelers in India.

01:20These will eventually be scrapped one day.

01:23If you want people to buy new electric vehicles, that transition will take time.

01:29So we are converting existing petrol motorcycles and scooters into electric ones.

01:34This can speed things up.

01:40The company actively encourages women to join.

01:43This field is completely new to us.

01:48Without any specialized courses, we began with just one month of training.

01:52From there, we gained enough confidence to handle everything ourselves.

01:57Whether it's electrical or mechanical, we can do it all.

02:03Converting a petrol vehicle into an electrical one is not a difficult job.

02:07The mechanical work is very simple.

02:10It's just the work on the motor that takes time.

02:12It would be great if more women could learn how to do this work.

02:18The conversion is worth it, especially financially.

02:27A one-kilowatt battery can be charged with one unit of electricity.

02:31So traveling 50 kilometers with an electric vehicle costs just 10 rupees.

02:37The conversion costs of about 400 euros could be a financial burden on many households.

02:43So Sivasankari is calling on the government to provide subsidies for converted electric vehicles just like it does for new EVs.

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