We take a look at various cars which can be bought in India under the FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) scheme.
While the government provides a lot of subsidies to various commodities in India, cars have always been treated as a luxury and have received very few benefits. No we are not saying that all cars need to be given some benefits but the ones which protect the environment do deserve some sort of rebate so as to offset their higher production cost. Until some years ago, there were no benefits for buyers of electric and hybrid cars which led to very poor sales as these models costed a lot. But the government has finally woken up and now gives a rebate to such vehicles under the FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) scheme. We take a look at the cars which benefit from this scheme.
1) Mahindra e2o – It is the one and only fully electric car available in the Indian market currently. Powering this little hatchback is a 48V Lithium-ion battery which takes about five hours for a full charge and gives a range of up to 120 kms. Even though the government provides a decent amount of benefit on the car, it turns out to be an expensive proposition. But saving the environment was never cheap.
2) Maruti Suzuki Ciaz SHVS – This sedan is the latest entrant to the list of cars getting benefits under the FAME scheme. It is powered by a 1.3-litre diesel engine and gets a mild hybrid system which boosts the fuel efficiency to 28.09 km/l which makes it India’s most fuel efficient car. The hybrid version costs just Rs. 30,000/- over the normal variant which is a result of cost effective components used by Maruti and the benefit from the scheme.
3) Toyota Camry Hybrid – Toyota is the global leader when it comes to hybrid vehicles and it offers two hybrid vehicles in the Indian market currently. The first one of which is the Camry. It is powered by a 2.5-litre petrol engine which combined with the electric motor produces a healthy 205 PS of power. It is a very practical option for company executives who wish to do their bit for the environment.
4) Toyota Prius – This was the first hybrid vehicle launched in India by Toyota and is still available on order. The first mass-produced hybrid car in the world, it is powered by 1.8-litre petrol engine which is assisted by an electric motor bumping the power to 134 BHP. The Prius toggles between electric and fuel powered mode on its own depending on the throttle input and the amount of charge available. All this technology raises its price to Rs. 38.1 lakhs (ex-showroom).
5) BMW i8 – This is the most expensive vehicle on the list and is a car whose owners wouldn’t care much about the paltry benefit under the FAME scheme. It breaks the typical psychology of people who think hybrid cars are boring and look bland. The i8 looks like it’s just out of a sci-fi movie and has performance which can shame many supercars out there. And it gives good fuel efficiency too while doing all this.
