It’s not just the Centre and State governments making a green push for electric vehicles (EVs) through conducive policies, now a bunch of corporates are doling out incentives to staff too. Bank of America, OTO and Brookfield Properties have initiated a range of incentives — from loans to the installation of charging stations — to promote use of EVs.
Charged up
Alok Aggarwal, CEO and MD of Brookfield Properties, said, “While a majority of our projects already have dedicated EV charging areas today, by 2024, all our projects will have such charging stations. Furthermore, as part of our aim to eliminate emissions, we have collaborated with various partners to provide zero-emission fleet services for employee and tenant transportation.”
According to Aggarwal, the company is also targeting 100 per cent coverage of the area under its management with EV charging stations by 2023. Currently, Brookfield Properties manages 50 million square feet of assets in India and has commercial space across seven metropolitan cities.
Policy-driven growth
OTO, a two-wheeler financing plus commerce platform, is running two initiatives — the OTO rider empowerment programme (REP) and the employee lease programme. Through the first, it offers multiple tenure options from 12 to 30 months with an initial processing fee of ₹1,500 along with comprehensive insurance. The company says it has committed a capital of ₹75 crore under the programme and has more than 500 users under the REP.
Under the employee lease programme, started in 2020, the company says it incentivises EV purchases made by employees with tax benefits.
Sumit Chhazed, Co-Founder, OTO, said one of the major reasons behind the growth in the segment is the Delhi aggregator policy, which mandated every last-mile and first-mile delivery company to transition to EVs.
Supporting the staff
Similar to OTO, Bank of America recently launched a global programme to support the use of EVs. Eligible teammates/ employees who purchase or lease a qualified new all-electric passenger vehicle (car or truck) on or after July 1, 2022, will receive ₹2.94 lakh for a new purchase or ₹1.47 lakh for a new lease.