There is enhanced pressure on the entry-level EVs with GST reforms leading to reduction in prices of petrol cars, Shailesh Chandra said.Tata Motors has sought targeted incentives for entry-level electric vehicles and support to the electric cars used in the fleet segment under the PM E-DRIVE scheme in the upcoming Union Budget.
In an interaction with PTI, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles MD & CEO Shailesh Chandra said that while government interventions such as GST 2.0, repo rate reduction and tax regime changes have revived demand in the passenger vehicle industry, entry-level EVs continue to face pressure.
“I would like to really appreciate the government for reviving the PV industry and the electric vehicle side as well. Two things which can be considered (in the Budget). One there is a lot of pressure on the entry segment on the EV side and if the government would like to consider some level of incentives,” he said.
There is enhanced pressure on the entry-level EVs with GST reforms leading to reduction in prices of petrol cars, Chandra said.
“The government last year took significant steps. The big one has been the GST 2.0 but apart from that, there has been repo rate reduction, tax regime change and all. So I think the government has done a significant intervention to spruce up the demand for the overall PV industry,” he noted.
Elaborating further, Chandra highlighted that the EVs used in the fleet segment account for just 7 per cent of the overall PV sales but contribute nearly 33-35 per cent of passenger kilometers.
He noted that the electric cars used in the fleet segment were part of the FAME-2 scheme but have somehow missed inclusion in the PM E-Drive scheme.
“A fleet car runs five times more than a passenger car. So therefore, the support that you give to the segment has a multiplier impact at an environmental level, right in terms of particulate matter or zero emissions and on the import of oil. This is one segment which was identified in the FAME scheme, government may consider it for PM E-Drive inclusion,” Chandra noted.
When asked if the automaker is also looking at increasing vehicle prices, Chandra said that forex woes and elevated commodity prices have an impact of 2 per cent on the company’s revenues which it has not been able to pass on to the consumers.
“Certain levels of cost reduction we have been able to do, but in the coming days, we will decide when and how much we are going to increase the price. It will get announced in the coming days,” he added.
Several automakers have announced vehicle price hikes citing forex woes and rise in commodity prices.
