[DevendraG]

I believe the strategy is Top Down for EVs. Get the rich (more environmentally conscious than practicality biased) to adopt them at higher prices so it seems desirable and then the lower you go in the segments, higher the sales (plus you can demand a premium as long as people are willing to pay). Also that could be the reason under 10L segment is so boring today. Most probably this void will be filled by low cost EVs which gets manufacturers the volumes as well as the FAME benefits. This the reason why Chinese are trying their best to set their feets firm so they can grab the opportunity when it arises.

Coming to the Govt, the pace of development Vs pace of commitments are inversely proportional for incumbent and its become even more evident after each passing term given they had absolute majority in first 2 terms & yet failing to deliver largely on their promises. A topic more adopted to a political thread!

[vamsi.vadrevu]

Every passing day, the cost of ownership and aquisition of cars is increasing. When he says ICE and EV will reach price parity, it obviously implies taxes on ICE are going to be raised. I would be ok with this if the taxes on EVs are made zero to counter balance the ICE taxes. But knowing our government, they'll raise the taxes for EVs too. Essentially making it impossible for middle class to ever own a 4 wheeler.

One could purchase a top trim Alto K10 under 4 Lakhs on road just 6 to 7 years ago. Now the same costs about 6.5 lakhs and the top trims go up to 7.5 lakhs. All because of taxes.

If the government was really serious about moving away from ICE they'd have removed tax on EVs. But we know they won't.

The only reason people would consider EVs is for the cheaper running costs (smoother and quieter driving too). Obviously the government will also raise the price for electricity and then the incentive to buy electric is essentially nullified.

[interest]

On-road or ex-showroom prices give a very distorted comparison. Whatever parity we may be seeing in them , it is mainly because of the preferential indirect taxes that EVs enjoy. If I am not wrong, SUVs are levied with almost 28% GST plus a compensation cess of 15-22% whereas the GST on electric vehicles is just 5%. Maybe these figures aren't up to date but still they give a sense of the kind of distortion taxes create and how much the real difference is.

[carjack3090]

Guys take a chill pill, It is the Ministry of Finance that takes the decision on Taxes and the Ministry they consult is the Ministry of Heavy Industries and SIAM.

Nitin Gadkari had sent a proposal for lowering taxes for Flex Fuel and Hybrid Cars which wasn't considered so he can say anything but ultimately it is up to Ministry of Finance that has acted sane for now

[DigitalOne]

Originally Posted by carjack3090

Guys take a chill pill, It is the Ministry of Finance that takes the decision on Taxes...

Not correct. It is the GST council that that decides on GST applicable. GST council consists of the Finance minister of the CG and all the state finance ministers. Even the finance ministry has to propose any tax rate changes to the GST council. The CG has 1/3 voting weightage and the states have 2/3 weightage.

[volkman10]

EVs go big, but price gap with ICE vehicles foils mass adoption.

While battery prices are expected to fall and domestic production to rise, the gap remains substantial, hindering faster adoption.
The gap is currently at more than 40% with the average price of an electric car at ₹17.89 lakh, compared to ₹12.77 lakh for petrol/diesel vehicles. This sizeable price disparity continues to discourage potential buyers, contributing to the low penetration rate of electric PVs, currently at a meagre 2.62% of the domestic passenger vehicle market.



Link:

[amolpol]

While it's not apples to apples, but I can tell you what the French did to promote the EVs.

1. Take away the subsidies for the EVs
2. Tax the fossil fuel cars higher to narrow the gap between the two
3. Hear the cash registers sing without moving a finger!

No government has direct benefits in making cars cheaper, their interests lie in the tax revenues. And we're talking of the Indian government here!

[freakmuzik]

The time isn't that far off but 6 months is definitely a joke. I had made a post a couple of months ago comparing the on-road prices of the EVs and its ICE versions and funnily, for cars above the 15 lakh range, the pricing is almost the same.

EV vs Petrol vs Diesel on-road price comparison (Hybrids vs Diesel vs Electric Car | Total cost of ownership study)

Point to be noted is that the prices compared are on-road and hence, the huge disparity in Registration charges comes into play. Even otherwise, the pricing is getting very very near. But it's the entry segment of EVs that are still way more expensive than their ICE counterparts (case in point being Tiago, Tigor, Comet, Punch, etc.).

[FlyingHelmet]

If you increase the prices of Petrol vehicles, it will match the prices of EVs. He's not wrong in my opinion .

Sooner or later, the prices for Petrol vehicles would be skyrocketing.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

The states will see dwindling tax revenues. And very likely, they will slowly introduce & later increase taxes on EVs thereby levelling the playing field!.

A lot of developed nations have flipped the coin. Taxes are back on EV's. No more rebates or discounts. They did those Tax cuts to get higher adoption rates for EV's. I don't really know how much they helped. In the end, its a vehicle being added on the road. There is no reason why you should be exempted cause you're buying an EV.

The bigger difference will be running costs. It will be a lower than any gas powered vehicle from the get-go. The difference in NVH can't be ignored either. The less noise and vibrations, the less stressed you are, as a driver. We tend to ignore/not care about this all that much.

[mack.mehul]

I think he meant to say that the prices of petrol & diesel cars will be raised to match it electric vehicles. His comments are really hilarious to say the least, will the government direct private companies (car manufacturers) to sell their products at a certain price ?

However the only way the prices of EV can be reduced and got on par with ICE vehicles is with cutting down sales tax, excise tax and such other taxes.

[carjack3090]

Originally Posted by mack.mehul

I think he meant to say that the prices of petrol & diesel cars will be raised to match it electric vehicles. His comments are really hilarious to say the least, will the government direct private companies (car manufacturers) to sell their products at a certain price ?

However the only way the prices of EV can be reduced and got on par with ICE vehicles is with cutting down sales tax, excise tax and such other taxes.

It is most likely to say that the overall cost of making an EV will get lower, which is possible considering we are having steady fall in Battery prices. So yeah I guess we will see 3XO EV with 39 Kwh battery and 150 bhp power at starting price of 8.99 lakhs

[mack.mehul]

Originally Posted by FlyingHelmet

If you increase the prices of Petrol vehicles, it will match the prices of EVs. He's not wrong in my opinion .

Sooner or later, the prices for Petrol vehicles would be skyrocketing.

I do not think that is going to happen simply because our country practically runs on the taxes the government earns from selling petrol & diesel. If ICE vehicles are taxed higher than automatically their sales will go down which will in turn affect the consumption of fossil fuels and lead to decrease in tax collection.
Secondly, it will have to be seen if we have enough electricity to charge millions of EV as and when its adoption rises.

[srh]

Don't know when the production cost or sale price will equalize (if ever) between EVs & ICE. If & when that happens, two things will most likely follow: 1. preferential GST rates for EVs will vanish & 2. electricity prices (fixed charges for increased sanctioned load & unit KwH prices) will go up along with electricity duty. So folks, don't get too excited. Governments of all political colours will continue to milk consumers dry and distribute revdis.

At a very basic level, we need to understand that the price of vehicle or petrol/ diesel in India has nothing to do with production cost of producer profits - it has all to do with absurd level of taxes.

[volkman10]

Another tall claim by the Minister:

India on track to become the world's largest automobile market by 2030

India is currently the third largest automobile market.

Link: