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Battery Electric vehicles produce zero local emissions and reduce dependency on fossil fuels. They open up possibility of efficient use of renewable energy in transport sector. India is endowed with high solar irradiance in most of the regions and seasons. Hence, tapping the solar energy for electrification of vehicles would be a sustainable solution in long run. Since significant amount of fossil fuels are consumed for public transportation, electrification of public transportation is a necessary step towards sustainability. However, range limitation is a serious constraint for electric buses. The technologies such as lightweight design of bus body and integration of solar panels on roof top of the bus can help in reducing the total energy consumption requirement.

Sustainable mobility has become priority in the wake of environmental concerns viz. emissions and depletion of fossil fuels. The growing demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles to reduce energy consumption and air pollution is a challenge for the automotive industry. Significant improvements in fuel economy can be obtained by weight reduction of vehicle as well as by improvements in engine and powertrain efficiency. If the vehicle body mass is reduced, there will be secondary mass reductions at the component level, particularly in the powertrain. Globally, automotive manufacturers have been engaged in efforts to develop lighter alternatives using aluminium alloys and other light weight materials, so as to reduce the energy requirement, improve the fuel consumption and reduce vehicular emissions. While the growth in mobility is growing rapidly in India, the installed base is still comparatively small, compared to the developed countries.

The automotive industry has to accommodate regulatory norms as well as customer demands in its vehicle design. These include better crash safety, new subsystems (for comfort) and high performance powertrains, all of which lead to increase in vehicle mass. Heavy vehicles consume more fuel and produce more emissions. While there are several ways to increase fuel efficiency (i.e. improving engine and transmission efficiency, reducing aerodynamic drag, and rolling resistance), the most effective means of achieving improved fuel efficiency is by reducing the overall weight of the vehicle. Hence, materials selection plays a significant role in the fuel economy, emissions as well as economics of transportation. If mass of a component is reduced there will be secondary mass reductions in other components, thus resulting in further reduction of final vehicle mass (‘mass decompounding’). The paper highlights potential benefits of using lightweight materials for vehicle body applications.

Mass reduction of vehicle is crucial for increasing fuel efficiency and reducing emissions so as to address rising environmental concerns. In case of battery electric vehicles, this will further augment the benefits in reducing the energy storage capacity required at a given electric drive range. The range of an electric vehicle depends on the stored energy in the battery pack and energy use by the vehicle. The energy use by a vehicle depends on several factors including vehicle mass, power train efficiency as well as driving cycle. Given a range requirement, vehicle's energy efficiency determines the energy storage required. A lighter vehicle will typically require a smaller battery for a given electric range, which in turn will result in energy savings. Hence, vehicle mass and battery mass are critical factors in energy efficiency of the vehicle.