Maharashtra’s Cabinet Minister of Tourism and Environment Aaditya Thackeray has said that EV registrations in the state soared by 157% after the 2021 EV policy was rolled out.
The comprehensive policy was introduced in July 2021 in order to promote the adoption of EVs.
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Incentives Offered
As per the policy, the Maharashtra government offers an incentive of Rs 5,000 per kWh of the vehicle battery capacity.
For two-wheelers and three-wheelers, the maximum incentive has been capped at Rs 10,000 and Rs 30,000, respectively.
For four-wheelers, the maximum incentive is capped at Rs 1.50 lakh.
Buyers can also avail early bird incentives if they bought their EV before December 31, 2021
Tigor And Nexon Made Cheaper
Thanks to this scheme, the Tigor EV saw its price go down by as much as Rs 2.30 lakh.
It is the country’s most affordable mass-market electric car.
Select Nexon EV variants could be had with incentives of up to Rs 2.50 lakh under this scheme.
This has clearly made it very popular, given that it currently has a six-month waiting period.
Meanwhile, the Tigor EV can be delivered in just over a month, say dealers.
Policy Achievements
The EV policy targets 10% new vehicle registrations of EVs- or 3,00,000 EVs – a year by 2025.
In Mumbai alone, 7,400 EVs were registered in 2019-2020, which rose to 9,461 EVs in 2020-2021.
After the policy was rolled out last year, 24,215 EVs have been registered.
Dedicated EV Cell
Thackeray also shared that Mumbai now has its own EV cell which will work to accelerate EV adoption in the city.
Called the Mumbai EV Cell, it is a joint initiative by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and World Resources Institute (WRI).
It will comprise government officials, e-mobility experts and industry stakeholders.
Their main work will be to help create a charging network, support battery development and market penetration.
Electrifying Buses
Efforts are also ongoing to increase EVs in public transport.
Thackeray said that the government is working towards electrifying BEST’s fleet.
Currently, 386 BEST buses are electric and will soon touch 50% of the entire fleet by 2023 and 100% before 2027.