Maharashtra EV policy to accelerate adoption of electric vehicles, say sectoral firms

Electric vehicle makers, including Revolt Motors, Ampere Vehicles, Omega Seiki and Mahindra Group, on Wednesday welcomed Maharashtra's new electric vehicle policy, saying the move will lead to faster adoption of these vehicles. Separately, credit ratings agency ICRA said that given the state's sizeable contribution to overall vehicle sales in India, the policy's allocation towards demand incentive (including early-bird discount) is a major positive.
The Maharashtra government on Tuesday unveiled its new EV policy, with an aim, among others, to make electric vehicles achieve a 10 per cent share of total registrations by 2025.

"The increased subsidy being offered under the new scheme will make EV motorcycles more affordable and accessible to consumers," Revolt Motors said on Wednesday.

Maharashtra was one of the first states where Revolt started its sales in February last year, the company said adding that looking at the huge demand, it is fast scaling up its sales dealership network in the state.

According to Revolt, the state government will pay Rs 10,000 per electric bike as an incentive. Customers buying an e-bike before December 31 will get an additional early-bird incentive of Rs 15,000 on top of the Rs 10,000 regular incentive, thereby making total incentive of Rs 25,000.

"The new Maharashtra EV policy is both progressive and comprehensive in nature. The policy covers all aspects of the EV ecosystem, from charging to making financing simpler.

"While the fiscal benefits will make EVs affordable, the non-fiscal benefits will help develop the overall EV ecosystem in the state," said Rajesh Jejurikar, executive director (auto and farm sectors) of Mahindra & Mahindra.

The government has clearly highlighted the adoption strategies, especially in the last-mile mobility segment, he said adding that Mahindra has been investing in the state with the latest one being a dedicated EV technology manufacturing facility in Chakan.

Omega Seiki Mobility Chairman Uday Narang said, "This radical step taken by the Maharashtra government to subsidise electric vehicles will provide the much-required stimulus."

The Rs 930-crore policy aims to get nearly three lakh new EVs on the road every year by 2025. Besides, the support for setting up a charging infrastructure, not just in urban areas but also on highways, will lead to faster adoption of electric vehicles, Narang added.

"OSM (Omega Seiki Mobility) will be launching its flagship store in Pune later this month, and Maharashtra being one of the primary markets for OSM, we promise to introduce more products and dealerships in the state soon," he said.

The EV policy announced by the Maharashtra government will be a great enabler of clean and green mobility. This will not only boost the growth of electric vehicles but will also provide employment at various levels and give impetus to the setting up of charging infrastructure, said Nagesh Basavanhalli, who is MD and group CEO of Greaves Cotton and director of Ampere Vehicles.

"This coincides with Ampere's ambition of expanding in the state and ensuring easy accessibility of an affordable range. With Greaves Retail outlets and Ampere Showroom dealerships across the state, we appreciate this initiative," Basavanhalli added.

"Maharashtra's EV policy is quite encouraging for the industry. It caters to all aspects of easing out the transition to EVs from subsidy on upfront cost, incentives on scrapping, incentives for setting up charging infrastructure to preferential policies for EV registrations," said Log 9 Materials founder Akshay Singhal.

ICRA in a statement said Maharashtra's EV policy is another step towards achieving faster penetration of electric vehicles in India.

"In line with other states, the Maharashtra government has also unveiled its EV policy. The state government has proposed to set aside Rs 930 crore over the next four years to promote adoption of EVs and create necessary charging infrastructure in the state," said Shamsher Dewan, group head and vice-president (corporate sector ratings) at ICRA Ltd.

The rating agency stated that the budget will be funded through a combination of green cess levied on registration of old vehicles as well as fuel cess. "Given the state's sizeable contribution to overall vehicle sales in India, the policy's allocation towards demand incentive (including early-bird discount) is a major positive," it said.

Combination of various benefits offered under the policy will help in reducing the price gap between EVs and internal combustion engine (ICE) significantly, especially for two- and three-wheelers, it said.

The policy also favours considerable adoption of e-buses in key cities across the state, ICRA added.

As per the policy, the state government targets to achieve a 10 per cent EV penetration as new vehicle registrations by 2025. It also aims 25 per cent EV adoption in public transport and last-mile delivery vehicles in six key cities -- Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad and Nashik, by 2025.

Besides, the policy also aims to have an all-electric fleet in government vehicles starting from April 2022. Also, under the policy, the government will offer incentives to set up 2,500 charging stations in key cities and major highways in the state through subsidy incentives.

New real estate projects will be mandated to set up EV charging-ready parking sites, according to the state's new EV policy.

The maximum benefit for two-wheelers and three-wheelers has been set at Rs 10,000 and Rs 30,000, respectively. Similarly, the highest incentive for four-wheelers is Rs 1.50 lakh.