Subsidies of up to Rs 1.5 lakh for electric vehicles announced in Gujarat EV Policy 2021

Gujarat is the most recent state to establish a new electric vehicle (EV) policy to encourage the use of environment friendly transportation. The 2021 Gujarat EV Policy encompasses a number of benefits including subsidies at the rate of Rs 10,000 per-kWh which adds up to a subsidy support of Rs 870 crore for two lakh EVs in next four years. The new benefits will be in addition to the FAME II policy announced earlier this month making EV prices to be among the lowest in india.

The Rs 10,000 per kWh subsidy is the highest offered subsidy by any state in India, However, the total subsidy is limited to Rs 20,000 for two-wheelers, Rs 50,000 for three-wheelers and Rs 1.5 lakh for four-wheelers. And also there will be a maximum ex-showroom price limit for these vehicles. So, electric two-wheelers upto Rs 1.5 lakh, electric three-wheelers Rs 5 lakh for, and electric four-wheelers (personal and commercial) up to Rs 15 lakh can avail the subsidy. The state transport department will credit the incentives directly to the buyer’s bank account once the purchase document of the vehicle has been authenticated. To make it even better, the state government will also waive off the vehicle registration fees.

For EV charging stations developers

Gujarat state government also plans to add 250 more stations across the state to take the count up to 528 charging stations. A 25 per cent capital subsidy on equipment and machinery (limited to Rs 10 lakh per station) for the installation of 250 commercial EV charging stations. For housing and commercial establishments who wish to install charging stations, a ‘No Objection Certificate’ (NOC) will be required along with a designated parking space. During the policy term, the Gujarat government would also waive electricity duty on EV charging stations.

In conclusion, with the new Gujarat EV policy on top of FAME II, residents of the state can have a maximum discount of Rs 50,000 on two wheelers (up to 2kW). For example — a scooter with 2kWh battery capacity will get Rs 20,000 from Gujarat’s new EV policy (incentive of Rs 10,000 per kW) and Rs 30,000 according to FAME II announced earlier this month (incentive of Rs 15,000 per kW). Prices of two-wheelers like Ather 450 Plus and 450X will now be Rs 1.07 lakh and Rs 1.27 lakh respectively. The Revolt RV400 will come at Rs 87,000 and the TVS iQube is expected to be well under Rs 1 lakh. In the four-wheels segment, the Tata Nexon EV will get a price cut of Rs 1.50 lakh but the costs of premium electric cars like Jaguar I-pace and Audi e-tron which are launching soon will remain unchanged.

The state governments introducing the EV policies along with the central government's FAME II can boost the mass adoption of EVs for private and commercial use across the nation. India is only at the dawn of electric mobility and the higher upfront cost of new technology can be offset by these incentive schemes from the government. They are important steps to make mass adoption of EVs possible and they allow the public to overcome the burden of the cost of new technology. Many states like Gujarat, Delhi and Karnataka are helping the public to buy more EVs by making them more affordable and appealing with these policies.