The arrival of electric vehicles (EVs) represents nothing less than a revolution. The trends and the increase in demand for have led to a surge in the demand for a skilled workforce. The catalytic role of an organizations and professional institutions will come into play in creating a workforce for the EV Industry. TimesTech spoke to Dr. Swapnil Sureshchandra Bhurat- Assistant Professor- UPES School of Engineering to learn about an overview of EV industry, demand for EV skilled professionals, courses and much more.
Read the full interview here:
TimesTech: Please give us an overview of the Electric Vehicle (EV) industry?
Swapnil: The Indian EV manufacturing industry witnessed confident growth and is poised to emerge as one of the leading EV markets globally. According to reports, the Indian EV market, valued at $1,435 billion in 2021, is expected to reach $15,398 billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of 47.09% during 2022-2027. Besides the more popular benefits — including reducing carbon dioxide emissions and air and noise pollution — EVs also create substantial efficiency gains and could emerge as a storage source for various renewable energies. The Indian EV market’s evolution can be measured by noting the growing number of EV start-ups — manufacturing everything — from two-wheelers to four-wheelers, hybrid and electric vehicles, e-carts and heavy EVs. Through policies, subsidies, and initiatives, several state governments are contributing to boosting EV start-ups, besides venture capitalists and private equity players, who invest huge funds in automotive start-ups.
Major EV 2-wheeler players
Hero Electric is the leader among electric two-wheeler manufacturers in India, followed by Okinawa Autotech, Ather Energy, Ampere Vehicles, and Pure EV.
Major EV 3-Wheeler players
Kinetic, Mahindra, Lohia, Hero, Sarthi, Victory, Bajaj.
Major EV 4-Wheeler players
Tata Motor, Mahindra and Mahindra, MG Motors, Hyundai
Buses
JBM Auto, PMI Electro Mobility, Olectra Greentech, Tata Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra
TimesTech: What are the various sectors of the EV industry where there is scope and demand for skilled young professionals?
Swapnil: Today, the EV industry is rapidly growing. There are multiple sectors which have a scope and demand for skilled young professionals. Some of the EV sectors where there is scope and demand for young professionals are:
- Design and Development:
- Mechanical engineers and drafters design the sketches, evaluate the engine models, and test them.
- Electric Vehicles Manufacturing:
- The machinist produces high-quality and accurate machinery products using milling machines, lathes, and grinders. They manufacture mechanical parts of the machine using various tools.
- The industrial managers manage the workers and are responsible for the smooth functioning of the activities. While for the fabrication of EV materials, computer controllers are required. They fabricate plastic and metal components and manufacture vital parts.
- The electrical and mechanical assemblers work on assembling various electric vehicles into a single-line production. They work on improving programs and automated tools to speed up production and increase productivity. While general assemblers work on the part of electric vehicles, they are neither electrical nor mechanical.
- Maintenance Department
- The maintenance workers work on replacing and installing batteries based on the electric vehicle. Usually, mechanics and technicians are required for maintenance works.
- Knowledge about battery systems and electrical systems is required in these specialized EV job opportunities.
- Infrastructure Development
- As electric vehicles increase on roads, the necessity of charging stations increases. Electric vehicles need specialized charging infrastructure that incorporates battery charging and swapping systems.
- The government is planning to incorporate private and public charging points for easy access to the charging systems. In emergency cases, there would be several charging points away from your home and office.
- The infrastructure development team focuses on the charging points implementation and upgradation of existing battery charging systems in various cities.
- Majorly, the powerline repairers and installers are required along with few electricians to implement charging infrastructure.
- The rural and urban planners work on implementing various charging points in different locations. Simultaneously, electric power line installers and repairers install power lines and work on power grids. Similarly, electricians install charging stations and repair paramount to minor complications.
Some of the engineering jobs in the Electric Vehicle Industry include-
| Field of Engineering | Tasks |
| Mechanical Engineering | Thermal Systems, Vehicle and Parts Design and Manufacturing |
| Electronics and Communication Engineering | Developing firmware for Battery Management System, Developing Infotainment system, Manufacturing and installing sensors in the vehicle, Power Electronics |
| Electrical Engineering | Working on motors, Quality Control, Testing of Battery Packs, developing wiring harness for multi-fold functions in the EV Charging solutions |
| Mechatronics Engineering | Vehicle Design, Robotics for parts assembly, Powertrain component development |
TimesTech: How will the demand for EV-skilled professionals change in the future?
Swapnil: As the world is moving towards e-mobility, in such a case, we need to reskill its workforce from an EV’s point of view. There is a huge opportunity for future engineers to train with such technology and become part of the industry. As per the latest study conducted in May 2022, the EVs market is likely to be worth around at least ₹475 billion by 2025. Also, India is one of the big two-wheeler markets in the world The infiltration of electric two-wheelers is projected to reach up to 15% by 2025 from 1% currently. Seeing this figure, the demand of EV- skilled professionals going to be huge in upcoming future. As the EV engineers will be considered as a professional having cross Domain engineering skills like basic expertise in Mechanical, Electrical, and Electronics to gain competency in designing multi-disciplinary technologies like EVs. Hence, there is no doubt that their demand will be tremendous.
TimesTech: How EV technology courses will upskill the talent pool to contribute to the Electric Vehicle (EV) industry?
Swapnil: EV skills are necessary to reduce the prevalence of high unemployment rates. One of the variables that contribute to greater unemployment rates is the shortage of talent like these. It would be backward to put the cart before the horse if we didn’t have enough people with the necessary skills before we started putting electric vehicles on the road in huge numbers.
Considering the incentives and subsidies that are being offered by the Centre and the States, the acceptability of EVs will continue to grow from year to year. Therefore, experts that have a cross-sectional understanding in the fields of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and electronics are necessary to provide services for the sunrise industry. Even though the automotive industry has a significant talent pool, the staff in this pool lacks the specialized skills necessary for working in the electric vehicle category. Because of this, companies that manufacture electric vehicles (EVs) may be forced to recruit workers from other industries, such as software, aerospace, and consumer electronics, where workers are familiar with the part that connectivity and AI-enabled technology play in the operation of machines.
In light of the fact that there is a scarcity of skilled workers, the demand-supply gap has to be closed by addressing the underlying reason, which is stale course curriculums or those that are not entirely in line with the demands of the electric vehicle sector. The field of mechatronics, which mixes electrical and mechanical engineering, is becoming more important in the development of electric vehicles (EVs). As a branch of engineering that draws from a variety of disciplines, it provides support for both electrical and mechanical systems and develops skill sets that are applicable to the field of sophisticated automated production. Because it combines elements of mechanics, electronics, and computers, mechatronics engineering specializes in the creation of systems that are more intelligent while also being easier to use.
