Nagpur: Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said that the cost of electric vehicles (EV) and prices of petrol vehicles in India will be almost the same in the next two years.
Gadkari in a webinar said, “Within two years the cost of EVs will come down to a level that will be at par with the petrol variants. Already the GST is only 5 per cent and the cost of lithium ion batteries is also declining.” He further added that the government has already framed a policy allowing petrol pumps to set up EV charging stations and in the next two to three years there will be a lot of charging stations across India.
Gadkari also said that electric mobility is gaining good momentum in the country and there is no artificial push required. Comparing the prices of EV and petrol-based vehicles, the union minister said, “The per kilometer cost of petrol-based vehicles is Rs 10, that of diesel is Rs 7 per kilometer, whereas for EVs its Re 1 per kilometer.”
India has set a target of 30 per cent EV sales penetration for private cars, 70 per cent for commercial vehicles, 40 per cent for buses and 80 per cent for two and three wheelers. At present, only two to three EV cars cost below Rs 15 lakh in India.
