FAME 2: Will enable the industry stakeholders to foster a complete ecosystem for EVs in India - Rajeev Chaba, MG Motor India

Team OD Published: March 04, 2019, 05:03 PM IST

The second phase of the FAME scheme has been announced wherein a budget of Rs 10,000 crore will be implemented in three years (2019-2022). This initiative is being seen as a major boost to the electric vehicle (EV) segment in India which is still at a nascent stage. In addition to commercial vehicles, public transport STUs, the FAME 2 scheme will also be offering subsidy on electric two-wheelers from April 1, 2019. Here is the official reaction of Rajeev Chaba, President and Managing Director, MG Motor India, on the Fame II scheme

"The recent announcement on incentivization of electric vehicles under the FAME II scheme is a step forward for faster adoption of EVs in India. The new policy, notification of which is still awaited, should help spur investments in the EV space and enable the industry stakeholders to foster a complete ecosystem for EVs in India. These decisions, when implemented should encourage companies that are focused in the area of green mobility, stimulating deep R&D and technological expertise, while allowing more investments to be earmarked for the development of various components for EVs. However, we believe that to encourage an "EV culture" in India, widespread application across segments irrespective of price and size is needed including for personal car users. This will encourage people from all sections of the society to go for environment friendly mobility solutions. Nothing has been announced on the private car usage front, which is a little surprising as it would have really stimulated consumer demand and led to even faster acceptance of EVs in India."

Further, "We also hope that the government does not fix any price cap on EVs in India, ensuring adoption of world-class technologies and widespread application. We are waiting for the fine print to clearly understand modalities of incentives for the passenger cars as we gear up to launch our first pure electric vehicle the MG eZS in Q4 this year. Having said this, we welcome the government's decision to announce FAME II as it augurs positively for development of clean and sustainable mobility," said Rajeev Chaba, President and Managing Director, MG Motor India.