There are over 8 lakh active electric vehicles in India

Electric vehicles have grown in popularity over the last year. The government has stated that there has been a tremendous increase in the number of EVs on Indian roads year on year. According to a new announcement from the Ministry of Heavy Industries, there are around 8.77 lakh operational electric vehicles on Indian roads as of December 8.

According to a recent remark made by a government spokesman, the Phase-II of the FAME plan has resulted in an increase in the number of EVs on Indian roads. The information was provided by Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar, Minister of State for Heavy Industries, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

According to Gurjar, incentives are offered to customers of electric vehicles under Phase-II of the FAME-India Scheme in the form of an upfront decrease in the purchase price of electric vehicles. This price decrease allows manufacturers to price their goods in direct rivalry with petrol/diesel automobiles. While the decrease hasn’t helped down the price of larger electric automobiles in India, the electric scooter category has grown dramatically.

Gurjar noted that the two Production Linked Incentive (PLI) programmes developed by the Ministry of Heavy Industries to promote the manufacturing of electric cars aided electric vehicle producers in increasing sales numbers.

The two PLI schemes that aided electric car OEMs are as follows:

1. On May 12, 2021, the Union Cabinet approved a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for establishing manufacturing facilities for Advance Chemistry Cell (ACC), Battery Storage in India, with a total production capacity of 50 Giga Watt Hour (GWh) and a five-year budget of Rs 18,100 crores.
2. The government has approved the PLI Scheme for Automobile and Auto Components, with a budgeted investment of Rs. 25,938 crores over a five-year term. The PLI Scheme for Automobiles and Auto Components covers electric cars.

Aside from PLIs, the rising prices of traditional fuels such as gasoline and diesel have driven customers to either more cheap choices such as compressed natural gas (CNG) or to electric powertrains. The expansion of the Indian EV ecosystem, which includes the charging network, is likely to raise sector sales even more.

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