State goes all out to promote EVs in new policy

MUMBAI: The state government is rolling out a new electric vehicle (EV) policy in order to give a boost to EVs and reduce the number of petrol and diesel vehicles in the near future. It is expected to spend ₹400 crore annually on incentives ranging ₹30,000 to ₹2 lakh to two- and four-wheelers and transport vehicles. The new policy is likely to come into being on May 1.

The EV policy that was announced in 2021 fell short of its three-year target on all counts. EV four-wheeler registration till January 31 was just 2.73% against a target of 5%, the two-wheeler registration was 8.33 against a target of 10%, while the three-wheeler registration was 14.9% against a target of 20%. Similarly, only 452 charging stations were set up in Mumbai, less than one-third of the 1,500 stations envisaged in the policy.

The target of charging stations for the entire state, however, was achieved, with 3,728 stations being erected against a target of 2,375. The number of charging stations in other cities like Pune were also much more than the target set.

The overall poor response to EVs in the last three years has resulted in Maharashtra lagging behind other states like Delhi, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, which boast an EV percentage of 12, 10 and 8 respectively. Maharashtra’s percentage, on the other hand, is currently just 6% of the total vehicles sold in the state. The new policy will thus aggressively promote EVs.

“The government will every year give 0.1 million two-wheelers a 10% concession or up to ₹ 30,000,” said a transport department official. “Ten thousand four-wheeler EVs will get 10% or up to ₹ 1,50,00 while 25,000 four-wheeler transport vehicles will get 15% or ₹2 lakh concession. Heavy vehicles, including transport buses and good carriers, have been offered up to ₹2 lakh exemption if they opt for EVs. The exemptions will be given in the form of taxes and duties.” The government has also decided to waive the toll for EVs on the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway and the Mumbai-Pune expressway, which will cost it an additional ₹ 100 crore.

The state government withdrew its decision, announced in the budget last month, of levying 6% tax on EVs priced at over ₹30 lakh. The decision was revoked after it realised that the budget announcement was against its EV policy.

The proposed EV policy also has plans to create robust charging infrastructure, with charging stations at every 50 metres. Special planning authorities such as municipal corporations, MIDC and MHADA have been asked to give relaxations and concessions to projects providing charging facilities. The policy aims to have 500 charging stations for four-wheeler light motor vehicles and 500 stations for buses and trucks on highways, said officials.

The government’s target is to have 30% electric vehicles among the state’s four-wheelers and 40% of electric two-wheelers in the next three years. The policy also mandates all government vehicles to be operated electrically and talks about making it mandatory for aggregators to keep 50% of their fleet electric.