Despite its policy promoting electric vehicles, Gujarat ranks eighth in the country in the number of electric vehicles (EV) registered. On August 3, 2023, there were 1,38,410 EVs in the state, which represents 4.88% of the 28,30,565 EVs across the country.
The Union government told Parliament that seven states – Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Bihar have more EVs registered than Gujarat as of August 3, 2023.
Sources in the automobile industry say while there are a number of incentives offered for buying EVs, the lack of charging infrastructure is a major impediment in the state. Another major drawback is that current EVs can’t travel very long distances on a single charge and people who want to travel long distances are wary of buying them.
Dealers say the gross shortage of public charging stations for electric vehicles is bogging down sales. “There are very few public charging stations even in cities of Gujarat. People with discrete houses like bungalows, tenements or row houses opt for EVs. So far, there are negligible facilities for vehicle charging in societies with high-rise buildings,” a dealer said. Hitendra Nanavati, chairman of the Federation of Automobile Dealers’ Association (FADA) Gujarat, said acceptance of electric vehicles in the state is increasing. There is a greater acceptance of electric two-wheelers than four-wheelers in the state because an electric car can only be used for city travel due to the limited range. It is thus mainly used as a second vehicle for families.
“Companies are now working to increase range and once this is achieved, acceptance in the state will be higher. Customers can’t be confident that they will find proper charging points,” he said. Nanavati added that even if an app shows a charging point, the EV owner is not sure how many vehicles will be queued up. “Real time information on queues at charging points and wait times is needed,” he said.
Under the state government’s electric vehicles policy implemented in 2021, a maximum subsidy of INR 20,000 is given for electric two-wheelers, INR 50,000 for three-wheelers and INR 1,50,000 for four-wheelers. The state government in June said that more than 8,000 EVs had been registered every month in Gujarat for the past six months.
