A total of 13,92,265 Electric Vehicles are being used on the roads of India as on 3rd August 2022, as per data available with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Heavy Industries Krishan Pal Gurjar informed that the highest number of electric vehicles in India are three-wheelers.
The total number of three-wheeler stands at 7,93,370. The total number of two-wheeler stands at 5,44,643. The number of four-wheelers and above stands at 54,252 as on 3rd August 2022. Further, the sale of EVs in FY 2021-22 has gone up over three times as compared to the sale of EVs in FY 2020-21 from 1,34,460.
The minister informed the parliament that the government has taken a number of steps to boost the adoption of electric vehicles in the country. The government on 12th May 2021 approved the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for manufacturing of Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) in the country in order to bring down prices of batteries in the country. A drop in battery prices will result in cost reduction for electric vehicles.
Electric Vehicles are eligible for incentives under the PLI scheme for Automobiles and auto Components, which was approved on 15th September 2021 with a budgetary outlay of Rs 25,938 crore for a period of five years.
GST on electric vehicles has been reduced from 12 percent to 5 percent; GST on chargers/ charging stations for electric vehicles has been reduced from 18 percent to 5 percent. Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) announced that battery-operated vehicles will be given green license plates and be exempted from permit requirements.
MoRTH issued a notification advising states to waive road tax on EVs, which in turn will help reduce the initial cost of EVs, the minister informed.
