Electric vehicle manufacturers should offer significant discount to buyers who have scrapped their old cars that were powered by internal combustion engines, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday.
The Road Transport and Highways Minister also said the government intends to have Electric Vehicle (EV) sales penetration of 30 per cent for private cars and 70 per cent for commercial vehicles by 2030.
Addressing a virtual event, he said the government has planned to shift public transport and logistics to 100 per cent electric but did not provide specific details in this regard.
"EV manufacturers should offer significant discount to EV buyers who scrapped their old IC engine cars," he said.
Recently, an official at the road transport and highways ministry said the Centre will soon ask state governments to provide up to 25 per cent rebate on road tax for vehicles that are purchased after scrapping old vehicles under the new proposed scrappage policy.
Announced in the Union Budget 2021-22, the policy provides for fitness test after 20 years for personal vehicles while commercial vehicles would have to undergo fitness test after completion of 15 years.
"The government intends to have EV sales penetration of 30 per cent for private cars, 70 per cent for commercial vehicles, 40 per cent for buses, and 80 per cent for two and three-wheelers by 2030," Gadkari said.
The minister said both battery electric vehicle and fuel cell vehicle technologies are complementary to each other and are all set to overtake fossil-run automotive by 2050.
Noting that the EV market is completely consumer-driven, Gadkari said indigenous low-cost battery technology, localisation of EV components, and huge domestic demand would further make EV the most affordable means of transport in the coming years.
The minister asserted that Indian vehicles will be at par with international standards in terms of crash safety, body designs, fuel efficiency and mass emission norms.
Talking about renewable energy, Gadkari said green-hydrogen is the fuel for the future and this will be used as a fuel in heavy long-distance trucks, buses, marine and aviation.
"I am encouraging research in development of low cost electrolyzers and innovative ideas such as utilising municipal sewage water for (energy) generation. Ideas like these can completely transform the energy landscape in India," he noted.
Referring to the recently launched the National Automobile Scrappage Policy, he said India will have a well-established network of vehicle scrapping units to deal with old, unfit and polluting private and commercial vehicles.
