Tata Motors calls for stronger policy focus on EV charging infra

Limited charging infrastructure continues to be a significant barrier to a wider adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country and Tata Motors is advocating a more focused policy approach to improve infrastructure development with active private participation. 

“Charging infrastructure is one of the big bottlenecks for electric vehicle penetration. There should be stronger focus on policy support towards that,” Shailesh Chandra, MD of Tata Passenger Electric Mobility and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles told reporters on Wednesday when asked about his expectations from the upcoming Union Budget.

The Central government now provides incentives only to oil marketing companies (OMCs) through the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme to set up public EV charging stations. Over 12,000 public EV charging stations are there in India. However, India lags behind many matured EV markets in charging infrastructure as it has only one EV charger for close to 135 EVs.

“There can be more private player participation in this. We need more players to lead this. We should remove the bottlenecks that are there to install chargers, at a community level or even to access of connection/installing public areas,” Chandra noted.

Tata Motors is the largest electric vehicle maker in the Indian passenger vehicle industry. The automaker believes early adopters of electric cars may be subsiding and there is a need to focus more on developing the electric vehicle market to sustain the growth momentum. The company is also working with charge point operators and OMCs to set up highway charging infrastructure and community charging.

Meanwhile, it expects the government to extend its support for the electric vehicle sector, in the form of tax sops and subsidies, till the industry becomes self-sufficient.

“What we expect is the policy continues till the industry becomes self-sufficient. Like FAME and the support for low GST rates should continue till the industry reaches 15-20 percent penetration levels,” Shailesh Chandra, MD of Tata Passenger Electric Mobility and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles said when asked about his expectations from the upcoming Union Budget.

Currently, the penetration of electric vehicles in the Indian automotive industry is at around 5-7%, driven largely by the two and three-wheeler segments. Government subsidies through the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) and production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes, and lower GST on the registration have been instrumental in driving the development of electric vehicles and their adoption.