Government approves green license plates for EVs
The government has approved green licence plates for electric vehicles in India. This step has been taken to promote EVs in the country. As per the new rule, private EVs will bear numbers in white fonts, whereas cabs will have yellow fonts.
By autoX Editorial
As reported by PTI, the government has approved green licence plates for electric vehicles in India. This step has been taken to promote EVs in the country. As per the new rule, private EVs will bear numbers in white fonts, whereas cabs will have yellow fonts.
The main reason behind this step is easy identification of EVs for preferential treatment in parking and free entry in congested zones. Concessional toll rates are also proposed for EVs in future.
‘The government has approved distinctive green licence plates for electric vehicles to encourage people to use electric vehicles. Such vehicles will be fitted with green licence plates bearing numbers in white fonts for private cars and yellow font for taxis,’ Nitin Gadkari told PTI.
India currently has four kinds of license plates – white plates with black fonts for private cars, yellow plates with black fonts for commercial vehicles, black plates with yellow fonts for self-driven rental vehicles and blue plates with white fonts for Embassies and High Commissions.
Additionally, the government also plans to allow youths of 16 – 18 years to legally ride electric scooters. Also, it will be mandatory for taxi aggregators to have a certain percentage of EVs in their fleet.
The government is also considering exemption from permits for EVs. ‘Exemption from permit will be a game changer, as restricted permit regime is a major concern. E-rickshaw growth is attributable to the permit exemption and there is scope to extend the exemption to e-buses, e-taxis, e-autos and e-bikes. E-auto and e-buses may have a big impact, since getting a new permit is extremely difficult,’ the minister said.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways also plans to request the Finance Ministry that the rate of depreciation on EVs may be allowed at 50 per cent as against the rate of 15 per cent for conventional vehicles.
