Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) has voiced out their thoughts on the future plans of the Electric Vehicle (EV) Industry. Its members have jointly demanded for the FAME Scheme to be extended for a longer time period of five years. The ongoing scheme will be defunct from 31 March 2017. This phase-1 of the FAME Scheme had an expenditure of Rs 795 crore, out of which Rs 500 crore were meant for incentives. In the last six months, EV industry sold just 12000 vehicles, availing almost 9 crores of subsidies under FAME Scheme.
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The wish list of the EV industry includes:
- Minimum five-year extension in the FAME Scheme
- A mandate to be passed by the authorities – One million EVs to replace commercial vehicles in the pilot phase by December 2017
- Enabling policy framework for making it compulsory to use EVs in logistic and E-commerce business
- Financing provision or increased incentives – for promoting the use high-performance EVs
- FAME should incorporate provision for subsidy replacement lithium-ion battery packs for EVs for incentivizing faster adoption and larger lifespan
- Easy credit on bank loan to the industry for boosting manufacturing for SMEs and MSMEs
- Charging infrastructure – the Govt should place a mandate that any petrol pump, should have at least 1 charging pillar
- Government should spread awareness about EVs and their benefits
- Institutional adoption of the electric vehicles (for Govt use)- The Govt must lead by examples to promote green mobility
- To put EVs in the lowest possible slab in the upcoming GST regime (5-6 % excise)
On the occasion, Sohinder Gill, Director Corporate Affairs, SMEV said that the industry is expecting long-term support, which will help create a sustainable ecosystem for green mobility in India. The extension of FAME Scheme for the next five years will encourage more investments in the country. This will help in better adoption and infrastructure development, bringing stability to the EV industry with policy support.
He further added that the government needs to bring out a long-term policy, which will clearly state the incentives based on the demand of EV industry, supply and R & D, underlying growth of manufacturing and investment in India. SMEV wishes list to be shared with the Govt so that target of five million vehicles in six years time takes a practical shape and the country gets an advantage of the reduction in crude oil prices as well as the reduction in emission of greenhouse gases. The immediate goal is to bring one million electric wheelers on road by 2017. SMEV is bringing in longer range and more powerful vehicles, powered by lithium-ion batteries. Our endeavour is to make the EVs mainstream and having the first one million on road can create a self-sustaining ecosystem and economies of scale.
Talking about the trends in the industry and expressing optimism, Hemalatha Annamalai, member, management committee, SMEV, and CEO Ampere, said that the industry is in an optimistic mood as in the last six months, six to seven small manufacturers have come, which is a very positive trend for the industry. The Government has been supporting them but they need easy credit for the EV industry to accelerate growth and help SMEs and MSMEs.
On the conversion of conventional vehicles to CNG, Pawan Sachdeva, from Mahindra EV Industry, stated that CNG is not a viable replacement option. First, it needs an infrastructure for operation and second, CNG is not a clean fuel. CNG-run vehicles are harmful for humans as they emit “nano-carbon” particles. We need to have sustainable mobility solution for the country where EVs are the most viable option. With long-term Government support under the FAME scheme, EVs can offer viable support the current environment problems. Also, electric mobility dovetails into the Government’s renewable energy plan for the country.