High road tax in Pb, Hry deterrent for EV sales

quote: The high road tax on electric vehicles in Punjab and Haryana is acting as deterrent to buyers. The government must bring out the EV policy on the lines of Chandigarh and Delhi to incentivise the customers —Gaurav Gupta, chief commercial officer, mg motor india

Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 23

The delay in formulation of electric vehicle (EV) policy by Punjab and Haryana is acting as a stumbling block in the sale of electric vehicles, especially four wheelers. In the absence of the policy, there is no incentive on buying electric vehicles. The road tax charged in Punjab and Haryana on new vehicles is 12% and 8%, respectively, whereas UTs such as Chandigarh and Delhi and states such as Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, have exempted road tax on battery-operated vehicles under the Electric Vehicle Policy.

The manufacturers and dealers feel the exemption of road tax on battery-operated vehicles will go a long way in bringing down the acquisition cost and boosting sales.

At present, the vehicles operating in the EV space are Tata Nexon EV, Tata Tigor, MG ZS EV and Hyundai Kona.

“The high road tax on electric vehicles in Punjab and Haryana is acting as deterrent to buyers. The government must bring out the EV policy on the lines of Chandigarh and Delhi to incentivise the customers,” said Gaurav Gupta, chief commercial officer, MG Motor India.

The company sold 25 ZS EVs in Chandigarh and Punjab in around five months in 2020. Across the country, it sold 1,350 electric vehicles last year.

“The exemption in road tax and incentivising can result in huge savings to buyers,” said Sanjay Dahuja, MD, Berkeley Hyundai, Chandigarh.