Indian sports utility vehicle manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) which owns the electric vehicle maker Reva Electric has announced that it will not be launching any more electric vehicles in India unless due incentive is offered by the Indian government in terms of infrastructural support and development as well as subsidies.
The Indian carmaker will instead be focusing on exports of electric cars in response to the government’s noncommittal on the issue. According to the carmaker, the government has made several announcements about plans regarding the promotion and benefits of electric vehicles. However, no action has been taken so far with regard to developing infrastructure to support the adoption of electric vehicles in India. This includes setting up of charging stations and initiating a subsidy scheme under which the electric vehicle manufacturers will be able to avail subsidy on production of electric vehicles enabling them to price them affordably for the Indian consumers.
Directed at bring about widespread adoption of electric vehicles, the government’s plans which were announced in 2011 by the current government, targeted 70,00,000 vehicles on Indian roads by the year 2020.
M&M is currently developing electric versions of its existing car models in India such as the Verito and other commercial vehicles. However, these may not see an India launch and may be introduced in other markets such as Sri Lanka and European markets where the governments offer encouragement to electric vehicles.