Mumbai: Government concessions drive Electric Vehicles sales as city witnesses leap of 200% in purchase

Since 2019, Mumbai has seen a massive leap of 200% in the purchase of electric vehicles (EVs). The city registered 311 EVs in 2019 and jumped to a total of 12,594 of them in 2022. Public preference has grown for the EVs, thanks to the subsidies and tax exemptions being provided by the government. From the prevailing situation, it seems that Maharashtra will not only fulfil but also overachieve the target of having 10% of all new vehicles registered to be electric by 2025.

Encouraged to buy an EV given the tax benefits against loan: EV user

Karan Rajani, who works as a sales general manager, said that he was encouraged to buy an EV given the tax benefits against a vehicle loan, which is up to ₹ 1.5 lakh yearly. Not to mention, the low cost of charging as compared to fuelling, he added.

Sharing his positive experience a year after buying an EV, Mr Rajani said, “Being a salaried person, I found the tax benefits and subsidies in my favour, which encouraged me to buy an EV. It's cost-efficient as compared to the ever-rising fuel prices. I have to charge my car just once a week.”

He travels daily between Haji Ali and his workplace in Prabhadevi and charges his EV on weekends for eight hours, which costs him around ₹ 180-200. “I find it cheaper even compared to some public transport,” Mr Rajani added.

Procedure of installing an EV charger in the society becomes easy

Also, according to a directive issued by the additional registrar of the cooperative housing society, the procedure of installing an EV charger in the society premises has become easier now. An NOC must be granted to EV owners within 7 days if they adhere to the required safety advisory issued by the government, reads the directive. “When I decided to buy an EV, I also took the necessary permissions from my society to install an EV charger which I could conveniently use for my car,” he said.

Talking about the demands and queries that people have while deciding to buy an EV, Laxman Jain, a car dealer from Santacruz, said, “Almost 80% of the people who want to buy an EV have already done their research before coming to the showroom. The government subsidies and tax exemptions are the driving factors for people to buy it more than the environmental angle. However, if this leads to people buying more EVs which reduces air pollution then I think it’s a win-win situation.”

In 2022, Maharashtra registered 23,74,134 vehicles out of which 1,36,022 were EVs, which is 5.7% of the total registered vehicles.