Maharashtra’s environment minister told that the state will offer new incentives to companies like Amazon and Uber to electrify their delivery fleets in advance of a 2025 target for cleaner air.
Maharashtra, one of India’s richest states and home to the financial centre of Mumbai, is a key market for e-commerce, ride-hailing, and food delivery companies. It set a goal for such companies to electrify 25% of their fleet by 2025 last year.
It now wants to accelerate the target by offering companies higher incentives for bulk purchases of electric vehicles (EVs), according to state minister Aaditya Thackeray in an interview with Reuters.
We are attempting to be on the earlier side of 2025 in order to see if companies can receive additional incentives and move sooner. This benefits us not only in terms of cleaner air but also in terms of economies and revenue models. He stated.
Amazon, Uber, Walmart’s Flipkart, Softbank-backed ridesharing firm Ola, and food-delivery companies Zomato and Swiggy are among the companies the state is likely to approach in the coming month.
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The push comes just weeks after New Delhi, India’s capital, issued strict draught rules requiring companies to obtain a licence on the condition that a certain percentage of their new fleet be electric.
The Maharashtra government has yet to make an offer to the companies, and Amazon, Flipkart, Uber, Ola, Zomato, and Swiggy did not respond immediately to Reuters questions about the possibility of speeding up the electrification process.
Amazon, Flipkart, Zomato, and Swiggy have previously set EV targets for 2025 and 2030, respectively, and Uber is collaborating with EV companies to electrify its fleet.
SHIFT IN THE GREEN
However, the proposal to advance the target may worry some industry executives who are concerned that a significant shift to electric vehicles will be costly due to a lack of affordable, long-range vehicles and insufficient charging infrastructure.
“When one state takes such a step, it becomes a template for others to follow without fully understanding the business implications,” said an executive with a fleet company who did not want to be identified.
Thackeray, who is leading the state’s larger climate-change agenda, says he is aware of the challenges and plans to make Maharashtra a leading EV manufacturer.
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The state is already a major auto hub, with domestic carmakers like Tata Motors investing in more EV production, as well as global players like Mercedes-Benz, which will assemble its luxury electric sedan there.
Maharashtra provides some of the most generous incentives to EV manufacturers and buyers in the form of lower taxes of any Indian state. It is also constructing a network of charging stations along Mumbai’s highways and in state-owned parking lots.
Thackeray intends to transition public transportation to clean fuels and has directed government agencies to convert their vehicles to electric. He has also met with investors to discuss ways to increase investment in clean transportation and energy.
This entire transition to a green economy… it is a massive economic revolution. There is a lot to gain in terms of revenue for the country, profit for corporations, and job opportunities for private individuals. He stated.
However, Thackeray believes that in order to increase EV supply and demand, India must lower import taxes on cars, allowing companies such as Tesla Inc, with whom the state has held discussions, to test the market.
Global manufacturers must consider India to be a major market. They will naturally come and produce once the demand is created here. Until then, we must encourage imports. He stated.
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