To promote clean energy in India, Government proposes incentives for electric vehicles apart from boosting use of CNG.
The ministry of road transport and highways has formulated a list of non-fiscal incentives to ensure that electric vehicles (EVs) account for 15 percent of total vehicle sales in the next five years. The announcement was made by Union minister for road transport, highways and shipping, Nitin Gadkari.
In a recent report, Mint has stated that with the help of this move, it is believed that there will be a leap in the sales of electric vehicles, which now forms less than 1 percent of total vehicle sales in the country.
The government also plans to establish compressed natural gas (CNG) dispensing stations in 300 districts to further push for the manufacture of vehicles running on clean energy. Gadkari also said that electric and CNG-powered vehicles will be exempt from road permits to promote their usage.
To give sales of CNG vehicles a fillip, the Union government will establish CNG stations in 300 districts and increase the number of fuel stations to 10,000 from just 1,400 at present, informed Union minister for petroleum and natural gas, Dharmendra Pradhan.
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, the largest carmaker in the country, will be the biggest beneficiary of this decision as the company has several models, including Alto, Wagon R, Celerio, Dzire and Carry, that come fitted with CNG engines. These vehicles account for less than 10 percent of total vehicles sold by the company but the announcement by the government has the potential to boost the vehicles sales of Maruti in the long run, especially because of its extensive dealer network in semi urban and rural markets.
Pawan Goenka, managing director, Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M), opined that this move is a huge boost for electric mobility in India and it will be disappointing if sales of electric vehicles do not pick up now.
