Responding to a query raised in the Parliament, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, quashed reports of alleged proposals advising banks to offer cheaper car loans on EVs. Gadkari confirmed in Parliament that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has no such proposal under consideration at this time.
The surge in EV adoption in 2022 has been considerable with over 1 million EVs registered up till December last year. While the majority of EVs being bought belong to the two-wheeler segment, uptake in the passenger vehicle segment has been consistent as well. While several major automakers have launched their own electric cars in the past year, even after including government subsidies under the FAME-II scheme, these vehicles cost more than Rs 10 lakh and are out of reach for mass consumers. Tata Motors is the only manufacturer that has been able to breach the Rs 10 lakh threshold with its Tiago EV that costs Rs 8.49 lakh ex-showroom, for the base model.
Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari.
However, during the recent Budget 2023, Finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, did announce that Rs 51.72 billion has been allocated to promote EVs and other clean mobility solutions under the FAME-II scheme. This is an indication towards the country’s serious push towards the carbon-neutral emissions target. Moreover, custom duties were removed on EV battery components and manufacturing tools which is expected to cut down EV costs in the country. Ongoing subsidy on buying new EVs has been extended for another year as well in the 2023 Budget.
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