For today’s consumers, mobility is no longer a product, but rather a service. Instead of buying, the present generation prefers to book a car or a cab. So, how does this affect the future of electric vehicles?

This decade’s upheaval is mobility. Places and opportunities become more accessible to the general public as a result of mobility. This, in turn, leads to more affluence and a better quality of life. The mobility industry facilitates access to goods and services, healthcare, and education.

Physical changes such as roads, bridges, and railways, as well as technological developments such as electric vehicles, connected vehicles, autonomous driving, and advances in shared mobility, micromobility, and vehicle rental, are all part of the mobility sector’s evolution.

Mobility has transitioned from a product to a service. While our parents used to buy cars and scooters, today’s customers are content to order a taxi or reserve a self-drive automobile on their phone over the weekend. Users’ fundamental mindsets are shifting away from owning assets and toward using services to meet their immediate requirements.

This worldview is pervasive not only in India’s metropolises but also across the country’s towns and cities, as well as across social classes.

People are more aware of the funds being blocked and the inconveniences of ownership than they are of owning a vehicle as a status symbol or an asset. This is a long-term trend, with Niti Aayog estimating that by 2030, 35 percent of all passenger miles in India will be on shared transportation, and by 2040, 50 percent.

The leasing of electric vehicles is at a fork in the road due to a slew of such issues. It enables higher vehicle utilisation while being professionally handled in specialised fleet management settings.

With the introduction of electric vehicles, IoT (Internet of Things) gadgets, and electronic payments, rental firms can now provide clients with an end-to-end solution that eliminates the headaches of insurance, repairs, and maintenance.

For these changes to make an impact, this disruption needs to be accessible and affordable. While electric vehicles improve total operating costs, shared mobility distributes capital expenditures across multiple users.

For commuters, two-wheelers are the first step in terms of affordability. Rental electric two-wheelers have the potential to create wheels of growth for the masses in India, and this is where the true disruption is taking place.

Until now, shared mobility has overlooked two-wheeler users, even though the category is by far the largest in India, with 20 crore two-wheelers. This is no longer the case, as businesses have developed solutions centred on two-wheeler rentals and pay-as-you-use options.

These services are fast establishing a captive customer base across India’s cities, with demand coming from a variety of industries.

Users benefit from the renting of electric two-wheelers in a variety of ways. They may utilise these vehicles without putting their cash at risk; they only pay for what they use, and the vehicles are used far more than they would be if they were owned by a single person.

Consumers also appreciate the fact that, in a fast expanding area such as electric vehicles, they are protected from technology changes, upgrades, resale values, and battery life, among other things. The fact that rental EVs are brought to your home, that they can be purchased easily using an app, and that all repair, maintenance, insurance, and RTO costs are paid are all added perks.

Electric two-wheeler rental is a multibillion-dollar industry. Even if shared mobility only accounts for a small percentage of India’s 20 million two-wheelers, it would undoubtedly generate a market worth tens of billions of dollars.

Apart from commuters, the logistics and e-commerce sectors have a strong need for these two-wheelers.

These businesses are expanding at a dizzying pace, and electric vehicles are the key facilitators. Aside from the inherent pull of industry, the government is also pressuring these sectors to adopt electric vehicles. Pure play fleet owners are in the greatest position to meet the industry’s enormous demand.

In the long run, electric two-wheeler rentals are expected to rise significantly in the next years, with the potential to democratise mobility for the masses.