India’s NITI Aayog has issued draft rules exempting all categories of EVs from registration fees to boost their lacklustre sales. The planning body has also proposed – again – that only EVs will be sold in India from 2030.
The move was first proposed in 2017 and revised down to 30% by 2030 in March 2018 after strong criticism from the auto industry. Maruti Suzuki — India’s largest automaker — has also voiced its reservations and has pushed for hybrid vehicles till the country is self sufficient in manufacturing EV components.
Indian EV makers call for extended localisation timelines, more subsidies per family
India’s EV manufacturers have asked the Centre to extend component localisation requirements for EVs by at least 6-9 months beyond April 2020, and up to April 2023 for domestically manufactured li-ion batteries (instead of April 2021). India is currently far short of any capacity to supply indigenous components in numbers that can see all two- and three-wheelers go electric by 2025.
The Centre has also been requested to extend the subsidy benefit under FAME-II to each two-wheeler bought by a family/individual, instead of restricting it to just one vehicle, to drive faster sales.
