More than six lakh electric two-wheelers have been sold under the PM E-Drive program since April

New Delhi: Over six lakh electric two- and three-wheelers have been sold under the Centre’s flagship EV subsidy PM E-Drive so far in the current financial year, data from the ministry of heavy industries showed on Wednesday. released. India aims for 30% of new vehicle sales to be electric by 2030.

The EV sales of 6,09,250 units achieved till October 28 are more than 50% of the ministry of heavy industries limit for EV sales for FY25 under the subsidy scheme. Of the electric vehicles sold, the Ministry of Heavy Industry has received and paid out claims for nearly 3.7 million vehicles ₹320 crore for electric two and three wheelers.

PM E-Drive provides subsidies for electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers, but also for electric buses, trucks and ambulances. Electric four-wheelers were exempt from this scheme – a notable absence considering all previous EV subsidy schemes also included electric cars.

The PM E-Drive program will operate for two years through FY26, with subsidies for all vehicle classes halving next year – following the global trend of phasing out subsidies for electric vehicles.

The Center provided a corpus of ₹10,900 crore for the PM E-Drive programme, of which ₹1,064 crore would be used for subsidies for e-2W (two-wheelers), and ₹511 crore would be used to subsidize e-3W (three-wheelers) till the end of this fiscal.

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The Ministry of Heavy Industries data for the PM E-Drive program showed that of the government ₹1,064 crore budget for e-2W for FY25, for which the ministry had received claims ₹324 crore, and paid ₹185 crore from these claims.

For e-3Ws, the government planned to limit subsidies to ₹511 crores. It has received claims worth ₹186 crore, and paid ₹The data showed 134 crore of these claims.

The PM E-Drive scheme became operational on October 1, but also included the Central Government’s Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme (EMPS), which started on April 1 this year.

PM E-Drive is India’s third flagship EV subsidy scheme. In 2015, the Center had introduced the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric (and Hybrid) vehicles – FAME program for five years. This scheme was extended for another five years under FAME-II until April 2024.

In March this year, the Center did not revive FAME for its third iteration. Instead, the government engaged the EMPS until it formulated a new plan. The EMPS was due to end in July but was extended for another two months until September.

FAME, EMPS and the PM E-Drive programs are a critical part of the demand-side incentives for consumers to purchase electric vehicles. Under the PM E-Drive scheme, e-2Ws receive a subsidy of € ₹10,000 per vehicle till end of FY25, and ₹5,000 in FY26. Similarly, e-3W, including e-rickshaws and e-carts, would be given a subsidy of ₹ 300 ₹25,000 this fiscal, which will be halved in FY26.

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However, the L5 category e-3Ws will receive a subsidy of € ₹50,000 per vehicle this fiscal year, and halved ₹25,000 in FY26.

In addition to tax benefits (EVs pay a 5% goods and services tax, compared to a 28% levy on internal combustion engine vehicles), Indian consumers are incentivized to buy EVs despite higher costs than ICE vehicles.

Under all these schemes, automakers are required to sell electric vehicles to consumers at subsidized prices and claim reimbursement from the government for these incentives.

While according to the ministry of heavy industries data, 5.49 lakh new e-2W have hit Indian roads in the last seven months, EV adoption in the country is being led by e-3Ws.

According to data released by the ministry of heavy industries in August 2023, more than half of all three-wheelers in the country were electric as of 2018, while only 5.28% of all two-wheelers and 1.99% of all four-wheelers were electric. .

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