The draft EV policy targets urban centres like Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Nagpur, Pune, Nashik and Aurangabad
The Maharashtra government has proposed a new draft electric vehicle policy that at least 10 per cent of all new vehicles registered in the state would be electric vehicles (EVs) by 2025.
As per the draft Electric Vehicles Policy 2021, the share of EVs in new vehicle registrations across the state in 2025 is likely to be 10 per cent for two-wheelers, 20 per cent for three-wheelers, and 5 per cent for four-wheelers.
The policy, which is awaiting approval from the state cabinet, also proposes that from April, all new government vehicles will be electric across major cities listed under the draft policy. There is a plan to convert 15 per cent of the current fleet of 18,000 MSRTC buses to electric.
In order to meet such high demands, it also envisages setting up at least one Gigafactory for the manufacturing of advanced lithium ion batteries in the state.
Additional Chief Secretary A.K. Singh announced key highlights of the draft Electric Vehicles Policy 2021 at a virtual conference to discuss the future of electric mobility, and said, “Today, the state’s share of the country’s electric vehicle registrations is around 12per cent (32,000) but the size is still not large enough to excite manufacturers. We are keen to take advantage of the schemes by the Government of India, and we will soon become a leading manufacturer of EVs too.”
The draft EV policy targets urban centres like Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Nagpur, Pune, Nashik and Aurangabad, aiming to achieve 25 per cent electrification of intra-city public transport and other vehicles by 2025.
To aid this, the government plans to increase the number of charging stations in these cities/regions by 2025 to cater to the growing requirements.
The state also intends to make four highways and Expressways fully ready for electric vehicles by 2025, including the under-construction Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway, the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, the Mumbai-Nashik highway and the Nashik-Pune highway.
