Tata Motors ED bats for continued govt support for promoting electric vehicles

Tata Motors Executive Director Girish Wagh has said the government support in promotion of electric and zero emission vehicles through schemes such as FAME II must continue till penetration of such automobiles crosses a particular threshold with a good level of localisation.

Seeks extension of FAME II scheme

Responding to media queries on expectations from the upcoming Union Budget, Wagh said there is also a case to consider the extension of the FAME II scheme, which will end next year and include bigger electric buses to avail of subsidy. Elaborating on the issue, he said, “I can speak only for my industry. So, yes, I think for buses, it is going to be very important and currently, I think it is also limited to the smaller vehicles.”

Probably, there is also a case to look at some of the other categories of vehicles that are goods carrying, which otherwise are not there under the scheme, such as the medium category in the 19-20 tonne range, he added. “If they are included in the FAME then even there, we can start seeing penetration or at least a seeding of electric vehicles,” he said.

Wagh suggested that the government can have discussions with the industry and take their inputs to consider whether it makes sense to include these vehicles for subsidy under the FAME II scheme.

Also read: 5 crore electric vehicles on Indian roads by 2030: KPMG report

‘Govt doing terrific job to promote EV adoption’

“The government has done a terrific job to promote, ignite electric vehicle or zero emission vehicle demand. Whether it is FAME phase I, phase II, now PLI and state level incentives, a lot of policy measures, the government has really done a tremendous job,” he said.

On the overall expectation from the Budget, Wagh said it would be the continued spend by the government on infrastructure development as it has a multiplier effect, leading to fundamental improvement in demand.

FAME scheme initiated in 2015

In 2021, the government had extended the Rs 10,000-crore FAME II scheme, which is aimed at promoting electric mobility, by two years till March 31, 2024.

The first phase of FAME scheme was initially launched in April 2015 for a period of two years with an outlay of Rs 795 crore. It was then extended to March 31, 2019 with an enhanced outlay of Rs 895 crore.

The second phase kicked off from April 1, 2019 for a period of three years with a total outlay of Rs 10,000 crore.

(With Agency inputs)