Electric Two-wheelers In India May Soon Get More Affordable

MoRTH’s new policy draft proposes registration exemptions to bring down prices of electric two-wheelers

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highway (MoRTH) has proposed a new draft that exempts all electric vehicles from paying and renewing registration fees. This draft is open to comments from the public as well as stakeholders till the end of this month.

MoRTH made the draft public through its social media handles, but hasn’t mentioned much apart from the fact that the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (1989) Rule 81 shall have changes. The Rule 81 mentions all the fees pertaining to different vehicles including issue, trade and renewal of registration certificates, or even cancellation of hypothecation or lease certificates.

The Indian government has already been pushing electrification hard, and is strengthening its case by offering subsidies to consumers as well as companies involved in battery manufacturing and other aspects of the EV business. The new draft will further decrease the cost of electric vehicles, thus pushing sales and encouraging more companies to get into the electric two-wheeler market.

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The Indian market is already witnessing a surge in the manufacture of electric vehicles. We already have products from the big players like Bajaj Chetak and TVS iQube, which will soon be joined by the likes of Ola Electric, Suzuki Burgman Electric and even the Hero eMaestro. Even Ather Energy has pulled up its socks and begun working on another e-scooter.

While new companies like Simple Energy give us hope for better and reliable products, the benefits from the government have also invited a lot of new players. These companies have been importing parts from Chinese manufacturers and selling them in India at premium prices. While this new draft is a welcome move, we hope the ministry is also working on an efficient public charging infrastructure.