Ather Energy CEO advocates for electric scooter subsidies to boost adoption

5 months ago | 26 Views

India needs to continue offering subsidies for electric scooters for another few years to boost the shift from conventional fossil fuel two-wheelers to EVs, said Ather Energy CEO and co-founder Tarun Mehta to Reuters. His comment comes at a time when the Indian government announced a surprise decision in Ma to slash cash incentives significantly for electric scooters to a maximum of 15 per cent of the purchase price before tax from 40 per cent previously, resulting in a price hike for the electric scooters and motorcycles across the country.

The Indian electric vehicle market is led by electric scooters. The segment has been witnessing a massive influx of fresh products over the last few years. From EV startups to legacy players have been introducing their respective products in the segment to boost electric mobility. Amid the sky-high petrol price and the rising cost of ownership for fossil fuel vehicles, consumers too have been showing greater interest in adopting electric vehicles. The Indian electric scooter market is small but growing fast. It accounted for five per cent of the total two-wheeler sales in the last financial year.

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Speaking about the need for subsidy, Mehta said that the industry has been able to cut down a lot of subsidy reliance, but it came at the cost of almost a year's worth of lost growth. "We've been able to cut down a lot of subsidy reliance, but it's also come at the cost of almost a year's worth of lost growth," Ather CEO reportedly said.

His comment comes in the same line as other industry experts who believe subsidies such as cash incentives are crucial for India to hit its goal of electrifying 70 per cent of its two-wheeler fleet by 2030, as the world's third-largest importer of oil looks to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

Ather Energy on Saturday launched its latest electric scooter Rizta. The Ather Rizta has been developed as a family-focused, practical commuter electric scooter and comes available at a starting price of ₹1.10 lakh (ex-showroom).