TWF 2021 – A huge success! Achieves new feat by clocking 2,000+ delegate turnout!
On 9th & 10th December 2021, over 2,000 delegates and 60+ speakers from the Two wheeler, Three Wheeler and EV ecosystem came together to exchange their thoughts on the key theme of this year’s TWF i.e. “Riding out of the Woods”
3rd Annual Edition of TWF was organized by Threefold Business Solutions (Threefold) with a focus on bringing together C-level executives and senior delegates across the 2W, 3W &EV industry value chain. Since its inception in 2018, TWF has grown manifolds and is considered as the go to event for the industry.
This year on the sidelines of TWF, a special adjacent event i.e Indo Canadian Auto Tech Week was also organised wherein Canadian companies interested in partnering with Indian companies met each other virtually and exchanged thoughts on how they could collaborate together. Total of 60+ meetings were organised with companies such as Blue Solutions, Li-Cycle, Veemo, G Batteries, Pyon Electric and many more. Event was co organized by Consulate General of Canada with an objective of opening doors for Indo-Canadian partnerships.
In addition to the above, TWF (virtual) comprised of panel discussions, keynote and presentations wherein delegates had a chance to listen, have discussions and engage with prominent Industry leaders and experts. This year’s forum provided a diverse agenda and covered a range of issues including Connectivity and Analytics, Electric Vehicle Ecosystem, Battery, and 2W & 3W Market Outlook. The Programme was spread over 2 days to ensure maximum engagement and as not just an opportunity to listen but to actively engage and participate via Q&A.
Mr. Diego Graffi – Chairman and MD at Piaggio Vehicles Pvt Ltd gave the Keynote Speech to kickstart the event and other featured speakers included Mr. Aniruddha Haldar – Senior VP Marketing at TVS Motor Company, Mr. Randheer Singh – Senior Specialist, E Mobility and Core Team Advanced Chemistry Cells Programme, Niti Ayog, Government of India, Mr. Vinkesh Gulati – President, FADA, Mr. Bipul Chandra – Managing Director, Ducati India, Mr Ram Bhavaraju – Head of Software Technologies, Ather Energy, Mr. Naveen Munjal – Managing Director, Hero Electric, Mr. Anil Srivastava – Group Head Corporate Relations, Amara Raja Group, Mr. Parthanil Ghosh – President Motor Business, HDFC Ergo, Mr. Akash Gupta – Co-founder and CEO, Zypp Electric, Mr Akihiro Ueda – CEO, Terra Motors and many more.
Speakers from the keynote session on day one shared thoughts w.r.t to Industry at large that industry has bounced back with significant positivity. Average riding hours as compared to pre-covid era are still lower, however direction of the industry is quite positive. They mentioned that while the consumer is still slightly careful but the demand for mobility accentuated by COVID is here to stay. They felt that demand shall also be aided by lifestyle factors going forward. Speakers also shared that the ride component is one part of the vehicle but another aspect that is evolving significantly is experience and connectivity.
Post the keynote panel, speakers in the next session did a deep dive into aspects of connectivity and predictive analytics. Incumbent OEMs clearly mentioned that they are looking at three things from the connectivity of the vehicle i.e. health of the vehicle, battery performance and driver performance. Having deep understating of how vehicle is being used is important as well as challenging as it is dependent on a large number of factors i.e. load on the vehicle, type of sensors etc. They felt that IoT should not be looked at as an afterthought but should be part of the design of the vehicle. Standardization of the devices and communication protocols shall be an important component going forward. Speakers from EV companies shared that connectivity is part of the embedded design of all the vehicles that are coming on the road from their stable.
On day two, keynote panelists of the Electric Vehicle panel shared that adoption is getting faster yet in some cases range anxiety still exists owing to limited penetration of charging infrastructure and there is challenge due to vehicle financing as well. Mr. Naveen Munjal shared that 2W and 3Ws are a low hanging fruit for conversion to EV with TCO gap reducing between EV and ICE. While infrastructure needs are different for different type of vehicles, the 2W & 3W infrastructure being created shall serve as a base for EV charging infrastructure going forward. They stated that basic and dense infrastructure shall be more than practical for 2W & 3W EVs.
Panelists also shared that range anxiety is there in the minds of customers and it needs to be addressed. For that companies are making the batteries portable and tying up with EV infrastructure companies. Another aspect which is there in the mind of the customers is the availability of financing. However, that is improving as determining end of lifecycle of the vehicle is important aspect for financing, which is changing as vehicles are now getting registered which offers clear visibility in terms of the usage and life span of the vehicle. Panelists also shared aspects w.r.t to government support, testing and subsidy etc. that are promoting the adoption of EVs
Prominent comment from most of the delegates, speakers and partners was that “This was a very successful and positive forum providing premium content to the industry as a whole.” The Forum was supported by Partners including Durr, Autoliv, Vector, Saietta VNA and MapmyIndia.
The Forum ended on a positive note and the organizers (Threefold) also announced that its next physical event focused on Tractor, Construction, Mining and Agriculture Equipment industry by the name of CVF – Off Highway will be organised on 10th March 2022 in New Delhi at Eros Hotel, Nehru Place. Companies and individuals interested in joining the growing list of disruptors, visionaries, and innovators at CVF – Off Highway can contact the Event Director – Rohit Dewan, on +91 9811152332 or email rohit@threefold.in for details. More information regarding the event can also be found on the event website at http://cvforum.in/offhighway
