23% Growth in Sale of Electric Vehicles in Telangana

Hyderabad: Sales of electric vehicles in the state of Telangana is rising which is being seen as a move towards reducing the carbon footprint. In the first eight months of the current financial year, it has been seen 23 percent growth of sale of electric vehicles comparing to the same period in the previous year 2020.

According to the data available with the regional transport authority (RTA), over 11,000 electric and battery operated vehicles are plying in Telangana as of August 2021, this includes over 6,000 electric cars and 4,000 electric two wheelers.

The corresponding number of electric vehicles plying in the state in July 2019 was 9,303 which included 5,573 electric cars, 3,690 electric two wheelers and 40 RTC passenger vehicles. Industry experts attribute the rise in purchase of e-vehicles to factors such as reduction in goods and services tax (GST) as well as better affordability due to low costs of ownership.

“One of the major factors could be the reduction of GST rates on electric vehicles from 12 per cent to 5 per cent, subsidies for faster adoption of electric vehicles and total cost of ownership are some of the key factors that might be encouraging people to choose electric vehicles over diesel or petrol variants.

The increase in sales of electric vehicles will play a major role in improving the air quality, especially in metro cities like Hyderabad. Experts also said that the recent decision of the State government to encourage and promote the usage of electric vehicles will push more people to choose them in the near future.

The government approved the New Telangana State Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Solution Policy and also decided to encourage production of electric vehicles in the state through various incentives to both prospective owners and manufacturers. (Munsif News Bureau)