Electric Vehicles May Get Cheaper In India
Published On Jul 15, 2016 12:00 AM By Naveen Soni
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To boost sales of electric two-wheelers, the government is planning to reduce the prices of electric two-wheelers, which will help in emission control as well.
As part of the plan to curb vehicle emissions the central government is making attempts towards speedier adaptation of electric vehicles. The most obvious solution for that is reducing prices of these vehicles and the government also feels the same. The Department of Heavy Industries has the given nod to set up a four-member committee that will work with the objective of boosting sales of electric two-wheelers and figure out methods for lowering the prices of environment-friendly vehicles.
Typically, an electric vehicle costs 50 per cent more than its petrol version. However, the government bears one-third of the cost under the FAME India (faster adoption and manufacturing of hybrid & electric vehicles) initiative, so they can be priced approximately 15 per cent above their petrol-powered counterparts.
The National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020 anticipates the sale of electric vehicles to go up to 6-7 million units. As per the projections, it would save 2.2-2.5 million tonnes of fossil fuel and reduce vehicle emissions (carbon dioxide) by 1.5 per cent.
The government's plan of action aims at resolving the infrastructural constraints and build a robust ecosystem for manufacturing of critical components. Recently it also had a meeting with major electric vehicle makers, including Lohia Auto, Hero Electric, Electrotherm and Ampere.
In this meet, Sochinder Gill, chief executive, Hero Electric, counselled that RBI should make it mandatory for the public sector bank to provide lending facilities that would enable consumers and promote the sale of electric vehicles. He said that due to the rising e-commerce industry the demand for transportation facilities has skyrocketed. He also suggested that the government should make it compulsory for logistics firms to have electric vehicles as a part of their fleet.
Source: ET Auto
