Stable Policy Needed To Push Electric Vehicles, Says SIAM Chief
Electric vehicles are going to come at a faster pace than what people think, says SIAM’s Vinod Dasari.
The government needs to provide a stable policy and a clear road map to push electric cars and alternative fuel, the automobile industry body said after Union Road Transport and Highway Minister Nitin Gadkari threatened to “bulldoze” polluting vehicles.
“What we are saying is, you (government) decide the policy and then put up a road map, we will meet it,” Vinod Dasari, outgoing president of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, told BloombergQuint. “The electric vehicle industry is going to come, and it'll come at a faster pace than what people think.”
Dasari said that incentives like a lower tax rate to promote electric vehicles should be enough. Once their operating and selling costs align with that of fossil-fuel powered vehicles, the market will automatically shift to making them, he said.
If I don’t manufacture that, I won’t survive. Let the market forces take care of it.Vinod Dasari, President, SIAM
Gadkari, speaking at the annual convention of SIAM, said the government was drafting a Cabinet note on infrastructure like charging stations required for electric vehicles. Petrol- and diesel-run vehicles have to go off roads in the near future, he said.
“We should move towards alternative fuel... And I am not going to ask you; I will bulldoze them (vehicles running on conventional fuel). For pollution and imports, my thoughts are crystal clear,” he said.
Dasari said the government should work on solutions like improving the battery charging infrastructure in the country, rather than relying on Chinese imports. Research and development in the auto industry is time consuming, so it needs a stable policy to adhere to while steering growth. “If we do invest in one thing, we can't suddenly change,” he said, adding that the industry is facing challenges from abrupt policy changes.
The changes in policy over the past 12 months were a concern for the ministry, Dasari said, along with heads of most automakers in the country.
“The auto industry is not one where I make an investment today and get a response tomorrow; innovation takes time, R&D takes time. That’s why, if we do investments on one aspect, we suddenly can’t shift,” he said.
(With inputs from Krishanu Mukherji)