Indian government drops EV policy plans

Nitin Gadkari believes that India no longer needs an EV policy.  

The government has decided against formulating an electric vehicle (EV) policy in India.

During a press briefing on February 16, Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport & Highways said, “There is no need for any policy now”. Gadkari was also joined by Niti Aayog CEO, Amitabh Kant, who supported the statement by adding, “What we need is just action plans. Everyday, new technology is coming into the market. Technology is always ahead of rules and regulations. And in India, it becomes very tough to change rules and regulations, so let there be just actions”.

These statements are in total contrast to what the government was emphasising on earlier. Under Gadkari, the authorities were aggressively pushing automotive electrification in India. The official plan to put a complete ban on conventional fossil fuel powered vehicles (even hybrids) in favour of EVs by 2030 was regarded as over ambitious by most automakers - keeping in mind India’s non-existent EV support structure.

Such a U-turn on government's behalf will surely come as a relief for most carmakers who were unprepared for an abrupt shift to the EV technology. However, some companies like Toyota claim that they will remain committed to green automotive technology irrespective of government's plans.

In an official statement, Toyota said, “Toyota has always been in the forefront working on ever better mobility solutions to address rising levels of emission and fuel consumption not only globally, but also in India. We will introduce appropriate products in consultation with all stakeholders. In line with Toyota’s Global Environmental Challenge 2050 to achieve zero CO2 emissions, we remain committed on our continuous efforts in developing alternate mobility technologies towards the conservation of our environment”.

On the other hand, this development may disappoint all the young EV startups which have been developing their technologies in the hope of licensing them to bigger OEMs before 2030.