Electric Vehicles Exempted From Road Tax In Delhi

The Delhi government is not the first government to announce a tax waiver in order to push EV adoption. Other states like Maharashtra, Goa, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh already have similar provisions in place to promote green vehicles.

Currently, only three long-range EVs are on offer in the mass market. Tata Motors’ Nexon EV is the most affordable, with prices ranging from Rs 13.99 lakh and going up to Rs 16.25 lakh. MG ZS EV, on the other hand, is priced from Rs 20.88 lakh to Rs 23.58 lakh. The Hyundai Kona EV is the most expensive SUV of the lot with prices ranging from Rs 23.76 lakh to Rs 23.94 lakh (ex-showroom India).

Luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz has also entered the electric market in India. The German carmaker launched the EQC at an introductory price of Rs 99.30 lakh. Other luxury carmakers are also expected to jump the EV bandwagon soon. While Audi is expected to launch the e-tron SUV, Jaguar will bring in the I-Pace. The British carmaker has already revealed the variant details of the electric SUV. American EV maker -- Tesla -- also has plans to enter the Indian EV market by 2021.

The step taken by the Delhi government is a step forward in the right direction. However, there is little promotion of hybrid vehicles in the country, which are easier on the environment compared to their counterparts with the internal combustion engine only, and don’t require special infrastructure like electric vehicles.

Offering incentives on the hybrid could further push the EV adoption rate in the country as it would attract carmakers to introduce their plug-in hybrid cars, which are more practical.