The government has disbursed around ₹320 crore to the electric two (e2W) and three-wheelers (e3W), and e-cart/rickshaw under the Prime Minister Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) scheme, which started from October 1.
According to sources in Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI), it has achieved sales of 52 per cent of e2Ws already and 73 per cent of electric three-wheeler (L5) category as of October 28. The scheme was approved by the Cabinet with a total outlay of ₹10,900 crore and it is valid for next two years.
In the first year, there is a cap of 10,64,000 e2Ws from which the e2Ws companies have sold 5,49,698 units as of October 28 (52 per cent) and have submitted claims for 3,28,524 units as of same date, in the MHI portal for subsidies, sources in the know said.
In the e3W (e-rickshaw/e-cart) category, there is a cap of 43,371 units in the first year from which the manufacturers have sold 912 units as of October and claims have been submitted for 758 units.
For the e3W L5 category, there is a cap for 80,546 units in the first year, from which manufacturers have managed to sell 58,640 units (73 per cent) as of October 28, and claims have been submitted for 40,075 units to the MHI portal, the sources said.
So, in total there is a cap of 11,87,917 electric vehicles (EVs) of these categories to be subsidised in the first year, out of which 6,09,250 vehicles have already been sold as of October 28 and claims for 3,69,357 EVs (51 per cent) have been submitted on the portal, said a senior official.
“Out of a total outlay of ₹1,575 crore, claims amounting ₹514 crore have been submitted on the portal as of October 28, 2024 from which the IFCI (project management agency) has recommended for ₹352 crore and we have disbursed ₹320 crore,” a senior official at MHI told businessline.
The official said that claims amounting to ₹147 crore were also under process at IFCI for the remaining vehicles.
The PM E-DRIVE scheme will be implemented till March 31, 2026. With this new scheme, the Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme (EMPS) 2024, the number of vehicles and the expenditure under EMPS-2024 (₹778 crore) for e-2w and e-3w being implemented between April 1 and September 30, 2024 got subsumed under PM the E-DRIVE scheme.
The PM E-DRIVE scheme also applies, e-ambulances, e-trucks, e-buses, charging infra upgradation of testing agencies. The total number of vehicles to be incentivised will be 28,81,436 units with the total outlay of ₹10,900 crore.
The government is extending demand incentive of ₹5,000 per kWh for e-2W/ e-3W registered in FY 2024-25 and ₹2,500 per kWh for e-2W/ e-3W registered in FY 2025-26 of the scheme. Further, there will be year-wise capping of incentive per vehicle as specified in the Scheme Notification or 15 per cent of ex-factory price for e-2W/ e-3W, whichever is lower.