The Government of India is planning an ambitious project to facilitate 1.5 million electric cars and pick-up trucks by 2020 on the Indian roads. This in all likelihood may result in Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki following suit with Mahindra that already dominates the Indian electric vehicles market. One of the intentions of the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan is to provide “last-mile connectivity” services. These services involve ferrying passengers to their destinations from the Delhi Metro Station in electric vehicles. These services will be pressed in a circuit within 5-6 kilometers radius.
Mahindra, which is the only carmaker that produces electric vehicles in India, will be launching its people carrier vehicle Maxximo. Tata Motors has launched the electric version of its small truck Ace in United Kingdom. It may also launch the Tata Magic based on the Ace platform here in India. Maruti Suzuki has developed the electric version of the Eeco which was showcased at the 2010 Auto Expo. Manufacturers have been waiting all the while for the government to announce subsidies.
The electric vehicle subsidy was withdrawn in March 2012. Mahindra, which sells the e2o has not been able to sell projected numbers owing to the high price of the vehicle and lack of subsidies from the government. However, the government is expected to start offering subsidies again from April 2014. This decision to offer subsidy has been taken by the government after conducting a thorough analysis on the cost of ownership of electric vehicles.
Lack of charging infrastructure and high price of the electric vehicles are some of the main reasons as to why electric vehicles have not gained popularity amongst Indian consumers. Of the projected 9 million four-wheelers that would be sold in India by 2020, the government hopes that 17-18 percent of these would constitute electric vehicles. This is an overall positive development for electric car manufacturers in India.
Source – Hindustan Times
