News:

Incentives on electric vehicles offered by the state government & the rising price of petrol and diesel resulting in elevation for electric vehicles retail registers record high sale in India.

The Electric Vehicle segment registered sales of 26,138 units during the month according to the government’s Vahan Portal. The sector registered higher sales compared to 26,079 in March 2021 before the second lockdown had to be announced due to the second wave. These are the solitary two occasions where the sales have bypassed the 20,000 units’ mark in a given month.

Maximum sale of the electric vehicle was registered under the 2 wheeler & 3 wheeler segment with steady growth in the PV segment too. With the cost of petrol increasing day by day & crossing the INR. 100/- per liter mark across metro cities. In Mumbai & Thane districts the cost of fuel is INR. 108/- per liter. This has given a boost to the electric bike segment.

With quite a few state governments introducing state-wise electric vehicle policy with offering direct subsidies has resulted in cutting the cost. The Maharashtra state government introduced an electric vehicle policy to boost the sales of electric vehicles last month.  As per the policy, an incentive of INR. 5000/- per KWH with an upper limit of INR. 10,000/- on 2 wheelers, INR. 30,000/- on 3 wheelers & INR. 1,50,000/- on passenger vehicles. The Maharashtra government has set a target of registering 10% of sales as Electric Vehicles by 2025.

The central government further extended the validity of the FAME II scheme by 2 years until 31st March 2024. With increasing the incentives in 2 wheelers from INR. 10,000/- per KWH to INR. 15,000/- KWH. The highest cap too got increased from 20% to 40% of the total expense of a bike.

“It resembles a fantasy script. Fuel costs are at an unequalled high and purchasers are considering more conservative alternatives. Electric Vehicle are the most economical in cost efficiency of ownership – stated Tarun Mehta, CO-Founder and CEO, Ather Energy. “Simultaneously, several states have got into a competition on offering better motivators for electric portability. That is the way it ought to be because saving the climate is non-debatable,” he said.

With OLA Electric scooters making an entry on 15th August with its first electric scooter shall further boost the 2 wheeler segment. OLA Electric has already registered a pre-booking of over a lakh. The company is setting up the biggest electric scooter plant in the world with a production capacity of 20 lakh units in its first phase.

With the industry dominants seeking for a reduction in import duty & the rising demand for electric vehicles shall put the pressure on the government & the auto manufacturers.