India's first Electric Vehicle Index launched by NSE

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday said its index services subsidiary, NSE Indices Ltd, has launched a new thematic index – Nifty EV & New Age Automotive index.

The Nifty EV & New Age Automotive index aims to track the performance of companies which form a part of the EV ecosystem or are involved in the development of new age automotive vehicles or related technology.

“The Government of India has always been at the forefront of framing policies related to e-vehicles (EV) adoption in the country to promote India as a manufacturing destination so that EVs with the latest technology can be manufactured in the country and attract investments in the e-vehicle space by reputed global EV manufacturers, thereby giving a boost to the Make in India initiative,” the exchange says.

“The Nifty EV & New Age Automotive India’s first ever Electric Vehicle Index aligns with NSE’s vision to provide innovative indices in line with market trends. The launch of the Nifty EV & New Age Automotive index will facilitate creation of products which will create opportunity for asset managers to invest in the electric vehicle and new age automotive market thereby providing an investment vehicle to investors,” says Mukesh Agarwal, CEO, NSE Indices.

The base date for the index is April 02, 2018, and the base value is 1000. The index will be reconstituted semi-annually and rebalanced on a quarterly basis.

The new index is expected to act as a benchmark for asset managers and be a reference index tracked by passive funds in the form of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), index funds and structured products.

India is the world's fourth-largest automobile manufacturer by volume, following closely behind China, Japan, and the U.S.

Electric vehicles' global market share climbed last year but is losing momentum due to reduced government subsidies, and concerns about availability of charging points, according to Moody’s. “This year's figure will come in somewhat below our previous expectation,” the credit rating agency said in April.

Growth will come from better product availability, improved features (especially driving range) and lower prices, said Moody’s. This will be partly offset by reduced government subsidies, and concerns about availability of charging points. As a result, some of the automakers that set the most ambitious electrification plans had to lower their targets.

China accounts for most global EV sales. Despite a slowdown in growth this year, Moody’s expects EVs to reach about 40% of China vehicle sales by 2030 on the back of policy support and customer acceptance, as well as exports. The Indian government is targeting 30% EV penetration by 2030.