As electric vehicles take the centre stage globally, India has been bullish in promoting alternate source powered vehicle in India and had launched Faster Adoption and manufacturing of Electric (& hybrid) vehicles in India called as the FAME scheme a few years back and now this initiative by the government is all set to undergo a massive upgrade as the Modi led government will outlay the plan of FAME II that will see an investment of Rs 5,500 crore.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will announce and launch the FAME II incentive scheme for electric vehicles on September 7 and an inter-ministerial panel has approved this scheme already. Once approved by the Union Cabinet, the scheme will be made official at the ‘MOVE’ a global mobility summit. Earlier, the FAME scheme in India had got an extension by six months that ends in September ahead of initiation of phase II. The second phase is likely to be announced for a period of five years and subsidies to all classes of electric vehicles including, two-wheelers, three-wheelers, passenger cars, taxis and e-buses used in mass transportation will be eligible for incentives.
This will see state-run transportation authorities adapting to electric vehicles and will help in overall reduction of pollution. This will also further boost the setting up of mass charging infrastructure to support electric vehicles. However, strong hybrid vehicles will not be entitled for any incentives under this government plan. A strong hybrid vehicle uses both electric motor and IC engine and helps in conserving fuel, likes of Toyota Camry hybrid, Honda Accord Hybrid have been on sale in India for a long-time but an excess of cess and taxation has made the sales of hybrid cars in India very difficult.
We also expect R&D towards making electric vehicles, manufacturing, battery technology and installation of charging infrastructure to get a big boost towards setting up a proper ecosystem for EVs.
Experts do believe that hybrid will play an important role for India’s shift towards electric mobility but government has decided to oversee hybrids once again. Under FAME II, depending on technology, battery-operated scooters and motorcycles are eligible for incentives ranging from Rs 1,800 to Rs 29,000, while in three-wheelers it is between Rs 3,300 and Rs 61,000. Electric cars and SUVs are likely to get cheaper by Rs 80,000 – 1 lakh. Automotive manufacturers claim the incentive from the government at the end of each month.
