Addressing gaps and unlocking value • EVreporter

Vinay Gunasekaran, Founder at Autoven, writes about how IoT and Data are shaping India’s EV ecosystem, use cases, gaps and recommendations for the industry.

Powering India’s Electric Vehicles with IoT and Data

India’s electric vehicle (EV) revolution is accelerating, but making this transition smooth and sustainable involves much more than putting more EVs on the road. It requires a deep integration of technology to ensure that these vehicles are efficient, reliable, and ready to meet modern drivers’ demands. While the government is pushing policies to drive EV adoption, automakers and infrastructure companies are making huge investments in building state-of-the-art vehicles, expanding charging networks, and improving battery production.

But as this ecosystem grows, keeping EVs efficient and reliable poses new challenges, like ensuring safe vehicle operation, preventing failures during warranty periods, and efficient vehicle service operations. That’s where smart tech comes in, connecting vehicles, tracking performance, and anticipating issues before they happen. A well-engineered battery pack, a reliable Battery Management System (BMS), and solid motor controls are essential for performance and durability. However, IoT and data analytics are equally crucial in optimizing these components. They allow real-time monitoring and predictive insights that help prevent issues before they arise, keep everything running smoothly, and make way for ensuring new and improved product launches.

IoT in India’s Electric Vehicles: Current State of Play

The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a network of devices that can communicate via the Internet. These could be controllers embedded in electric vehicles which in turn are connected to various sensors. These sensors gather real-time data about how the vehicle runs, how much charge is left, and the driving conditions. All this information doesn’t just sit there. It’s processed by data analytics systems that turn it into useful insights for automakers, fleet operators, and users too.

What does this technology actually do? It enables a holistic approach to vehicle management that covers everything from optimizing vehicle utilization to extending the remaining lifetime of key components. For instance, Over-the-Air (OTA) updates allow for software improvements without needing to visit a service centre, keeping vehicles up-to-date and enhancing performance remotely. IoT sensors provide insights into how the vehicle is being driven and functioning over time, which helps manufacturers ensure that vehicles are used efficiently and maintained at their best.

Suppose a vehicle’s battery isn’t performing as expected. In that case, IoT sensors can detect that early, sending alerts to manufacturers who can take proactive measures before a breakdown, which, if it occurs, is highly expensive. This proactive approach extends the vehicle’s lifespan, enhances reliability, and ultimately keeps drivers satisfied by reducing the likelihood of unexpected malfunctions. IoT data plays a crucial role here. It helps prevent problems from escalating by monitoring components like the battery, motor, and electronics in real time.

Similarly, operators of EV fleets, like rideshare companies or delivery services, can optimize vehicle usage, ensuring that their vehicles are charged and ready when needed and not wasting energy on inefficient routes. Benefits are clear: less downtime, fewer repairs and better overall performance.

Challenges in the Current System

Even though technology is a game changer for electric vehicles, some issues still hold the industry back. Here’s a closer look at a few of the biggest challenges:

• Adoption: Not all OEMs have adopted IoT technology for all their vehicles. While the benefits of IoT systems and data analytics insights are proven, the industry is still significantly sluggish in adopting these technologies.

• Data Silos: Not all players in the EV industry are working together on a single platform. Automakers, battery producers, and service providers all tend to have their own systems, which makes data-sharing tough. Without standardized systems, valuable information is often locked away, unable to benefit the broader ecosystem.

• Delayed Response Times: Even with IoT sensors, some companies are still not equipped to process data quickly enough to act on it in real time. This means that opportunities for preventative maintenance or design improvements can be missed, leading to potential failures.

• Battery Monitoring: Monitoring a battery’s health over time can be tricky. If the data isn’t being monitored and analyzed effectively, manufacturers cannot predict when a battery will degrade, leading to costly and unexpected replacements or repairs.

• Service and Repairs: Reactive service models—where problems are fixed only after they arise—are still the norm in many places. Without predictive diagnostics, vehicles break down more frequently, leading to frustrated customers and higher maintenance costs.

• Customer Satisfaction: Adoption slows down if drivers aren’t confident that their EVs will perform well and last as long as promised. Keeping vehicles running smoothly through proactive care is key to building trust in this new technology.

Addressing Challenges in the EV Ecosystem | Examples from Live Implementations

Some OEMs are taking significant steps to overcome key vehicle performance, customer experience, and fleet management challenges. By leveraging data-driven insights and advanced technology, these OEMs are closing gaps in their operations and improving their offerings.

• Two new OEMs in the EV market turned to Autoven for help with real-time vehicle monitoring and predictive diagnostics. By closely monitoring their vehicles’ performance, they can spot problems early and fix them before they snowball into bigger problems, keeping customers happy and nourishing their brand’s reputation.

• Another OEM is going the extra mile to give their customers more control through a handy app. With Autoven Platform in the background, this app lets users check charging levels, monitor battery health, review their trip history, and even get help with FAQs or directly raise a service ticket. Plus, it helps them find the nearest charging stations or service centres. With OTA capabilities, the OEM can remotely push software updates to vehicles, making it all seamless for the user. This collaboration allows the OEM to focus on its core objective of building the best vehicle possible. The responsibility of building the additional infrastructure that enhances the vehicle can be taken up by specialist organizations.

• A major lessor uses Autoven to track asset utilization across its fleet. By closely monitoring vehicle usage, they can optimise their operations and ensure efficient asset use.

• Autoven is working with several organizations in the battery industry to optimize battery health management by utilizing real-time monitoring of key battery parameters coupled with predictive diagnostics. With the power of advanced analytical algorithms, including machine learning, and the vast amount of collected data, the prediction of long-term battery performance and life is achieved. This is a crucial metric for both manufacturers and users, especially when vehicles operate in diverse environmental conditions.

• Interestingly, a rather visionary OEM wants to monitor how road conditions affect the performance of its vehicles. By using Autoven AI to detect patterns in anomalous vehicle behavior and road conditions, the company wishes to redesign its vehicles for maximum performance under various conditions. This project holds exciting possibilities, as it could lead to the creation of terrain and environment-specific vehicles.

An Indian cargo EV manufacturer upgraded its vehicle data analytics infrastructure with Autoven’s IoT solution, aligning it to the performance of its sophisticated vehicles. This collaboration and the enhancement of their own production, R&D, and other departments prepared the company for significant growth. They rapidly scaled their production and sold vehicles at higher volumes, leading to a staggering 10x growth in sales.

The company is now vying to become one of India’s top five EV OEMs. Case Study

Gaps to Bridge: What the Industry Can Address Together

While significant strides have been made in addressing key gaps in India’s EV ecosystem, areas still need more attention and collaboration. One major concern is ensuring vehicles maintain their health and reliability throughout the warranty period. Service management must take a more proactive approach, where predictive diagnostics become the standard practice.

• Service management can be enhanced by using data in three critical areas: after a breakdown for fast resolution, during routine preventive maintenance for efficient upkeep, and through predictive diagnostics to avoid future breakdowns altogether. By utilizing data insights, OEMs can ensure that service processes are streamlined, responsive, and preventive, helping reduce downtime and customer frustration.

• OEMs should also look to get more vehicles onto data analytical platforms. The more data that’s captured, the more insights can be derived. OEMs can then use these intelligent insights to improve vehicle utilization, optimize fleet performance, and inform future vehicle development.

• Furthermore, OEMs should strongly emphasize improving customer satisfaction. This involves ensuring that vehicles are consistently dependable, minimizing service disruptions, and enhancing the overall customer support experience. Moreover, with the transparency of vehicle data achieved with IoT, customers can derive better resale value on their EVs.

Ultimately, all parties in the industry—from OEMs to finance corporations—should fully utilize the power of data.

Looking to the Future

The future of electric vehicles in India is bright as manufacturers can use IoT and data analytics to create more reliable vehicles, lower costs, and give customers a better ownership experience. As automakers, battery producers, and technology providers collaborate, the EV ecosystem will become more efficient. The future of transport is smarter, cleaner, and more connected than ever—and it’s happening right now.

About the author

Vinay Gunasekaran is the Founder of Pune-based Autoven, a platform designed exclusively to enhance the overall EV experience.

Learn more at autoven.tech

This article was first published in EVreporter Sep 2024 magazine.

Also read: How IoT and AI solutions can accelerate EV deployments and enhance customer experience