UP Tops Electric Vehicle Use In India, Beats Delhi By Almost Double The Numbers

Indian government is aggressively propagating the use of electric vehicles in the country, trying to achieve its ultimate mobility goal of having 30% of India¡¯s transportation run on electric drivetrains by 2030.

Intermediate steps have been decided upon too, with the government recently mentioning an aim to deploy 60 to 70 lakh hybrid and electric vehicles in the country by 2020, under its National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP).

There is a problem though. We are midway through 2019 and the current penetration of such vehicles stands at a mere 4 lakh mark across India.

Road transport ministry recently revealed these figures in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. As per the stats, there are around 4 lakh registered electric or battery operated vehicles in India. Interestingly, half of them are in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi combined.

The data by the road transport ministry, however, does not include the count of all the e-rickshaws and e-carts.

The decision to count these entities as motor vehicles came after Parliament passed a law recognising them as one back in March 2015. They are still not required to have a commercial permit though, on the account of being affordable last mile connectivity options.

(Representative Image: BCCL)

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The written reply by union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari also informed the Lok Sabha of the state wise bifurcation of these EV sales. As per the report, Uttar Pradesh has 1.39 lakh registered electric vehicles and ranks as the Indian state with maximum number of electric vehicles. The state alone constitutes 35% of the total registered EVs in India. Delhi follows it with 75,600 EVs, further trailed by Karnataka and Maharashtra. Even Assam has recorded 15,192 e-vehicle registrations to date.

The numbers are only going to increase, considering the consistent efforts being made by the government. Recently, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made this agenda clear in the Union Budget 2019, offering tax redemption on loan interests to EV buyers. Even the government bodies have been directed to opt for EVs for official transport purposes. On the manufacturer¡¯s front, the government is offering subsidies to those manufacturing EVs, while even more to those doing so within the country.

While it is definite that India is moving towards a widespread EV use, a much cleaner form of commuting than the conventional IC engines, the question is, whether the country will be able to achieve the set targets or are more such initiatives necessary to increase the adoption rate. Some core points that can alter the rate exponentially is the indigenous manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries as well as setting up of charging stations across the country.

While the former will help bring down the cost of EVs multifold, the latter will help make these EVs more practical on the roads.