This budget has been in continuation of the intention of
Government to go full throttle for Electric Vehicles Manufacturing and
Ecosystem Development in the country. Madam FM clearly said that Government is
aiming to make India a global hub of electric vehicle manufacturing.
Three major initiatives taken in this direction are
following
1. Entry of New players
A new scheme has been proposed to invite global companies through a transparent
competitive bidding process to set up mega manufacturing plants in sunrise and
advanced technology areas including lithium storage batteries, and charging
infrastructure.
2. Incentive for the Buyers:
Income Tax benefit of Rs 1.5 Lac on the Interest paid on
Purchase of EV as private buyers, who were earlier not considered for a subsidy
through FAME 2 will be encouraged for Electric Vehicle purchase.
3. Support for Manufacturing ( EVs and EV components)
A.
Decision on supporting EV manufacturing by
extending benefits under Section 35AD(1).
B.
Proposed GST Reduction on EV Manufacturing from
12% to 5%
C.
Duty Reduction of Lithium Iron batteries from 5%
to Zero
D.
Extension of FAME 2 Benefits , 10,000 Crore
for Hybrid and Electric Vehicle promotion till
2022. ( Limited to Advanced Batteries and Registered Vehicles). It is aimed to support 10 Lakh
two-wheeler, 5 Lakh three-wheeler, 55K four-wheeler, and 7K buses that operate
on lithium-ion batteries or other electric power-trains.
Conclusion
In India, EV Penetration is just 0.06% while it is among top
3 Largest importer of Crude Oil in the world, So move towards adopting and promoting
Electric Mobility is urgent need of hour. This budget has paved firm ground for
the long journey of Electric Mobility in India by addressing multiple challenges
lying ahead in the time of stagnant automotive Industry.
There are companies trying to push them as lifestyle products as well. NYT Article
ReplyDeleteI think for automobile companies, its critical to look at the charging infra as well to get adoption going. Will be interesting to see what price points are chosen by respective companies.
ReplyDeleteNISSAN has tried targeting the market from the bottom end but had limited success in US. May be companies should target tier 2 cities first if their offering is not spectacular where it is easier to set up infra. My sense is in Tier 1 people will tend to move to public transport.