Reacting at the Union Cabinet move to push electric mobility in the country, Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV), Director- Corporate Affairs Sohinder Gill said that the government should immediately kick start the mass adoption of EVs in the country.
"On behalf of the EV industry, we welcome the move. Having announced that by 2032, India will produce only EVs, the whole world is closely watching us and it is important that some big and solid actions to accelerate the adoption of EVs are implemented at the earliest," said Sohinder Gill.
"There are few things that the govt. should immediately do to kick start the mass adoption of EVs. The EV industry is having some anxious moments as FAME I, the current EV incentive scheme is coming to an end in September 2017 and FAME II is nowhere in sight," added Gill.
The industry should know whether there could be any abrupt stoppage / tapering of FAME I initiatives that may adversely affect the business plans of the existing players. Another anomaly that needs to be quickly addressed particularly for the electric two wheelers is the higher GST on the batteries when sold separately at 28 percent against 12 percent when sold with the vehicles.
"Lithium batteries are usually being sold separately from the electric two wheelers to give a choice of the batteries at the point of sale and such batteries have become significantly costlier because of the 28 percent GST, leading to a big dampener for the electric two wheeler customers," added Gill.