New Delhi: Four years after the Union cabinet approved the ₹25,938-crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for automobiles and auto parts, not a single manufacturer has applied to test an electric quadricycle at the country's top vehicle testing agency, the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), to two officials aware of the development said.

Quadricycles are small four-wheelers used to carry passengers and goods, and are identified under the L7M and L7N categories of vehicles. There have been no sales of these vehicles in India in the last four fiscal years, data on the government’s Vahan registry shows.

Sales of battery-operated electric quadricycles are eligible for incentives under the PLI Auto scheme, according to publicly-available eligibility forms for the scheme, as these ‘microcars’ are classified as advanced automotive technology.

Electric quadricycles and e-rickshaws are both designed to be zero-emission means of last-mile mobility. The ministry of heavy industries has shifted a bulk of the funds allocated for e-rickshaws under PM E-drive scheme towards incentivising L5 category electric three-wheelers, due to low offtake in the category.

On 23 August, Mint reported that the government said that about 75% of the funds allocated for e-rickshaws would be transferred towards incentivising the L5category of electric three-wheelers under the scheme.

In November 2018, the ministry of road transport and highways had allowed quadricycles to be registered for non-transport use in India, introducing the product as: “…a vehicle of the size of a 3-wheeler but with 4 tyres and fully covered like a car. It has an engine like that of a 3-wheeler. This makes it a cheap and safe mode of transport for last mile connectivity.”

All manufacturers seeking incentives under the PLI-Auto scheme have to ensure their models pass the stringent localization test by the ARAI. The scheme mandates 50% localization, meaning all vehicles must source half their components from India.

In a report earlier this month, government think tank Niti Aayog had said manufacturers had made specific demands related to last-mile mobility. They had called for a ‘single-till’ approach between two critical electric mobility government schemes, PLI-Auto and PM E-drive, so that vehicles qualified for incentives under one would also qualify for incentives under the other.

The PM E-drive scheme, with a ₹10,900-crore outlay, provides an upfront capital reduction to buyers of electric vehicles in the form of a discount. Subsequently, the government reimburses manufacturers for the difference. While the localization requirements under this demand-side incentive scheme arestringent, they are different from those for the PLI-Auto scheme, which is a supply-side incentive.

Manufacturers seeking benefits under the PM E-drive scheme have to comply with a phased manufacturing programme (PMP) that lists all the components they are allowed to import, while all other parts have to be sourced locally.
 

New Delhi: Four years after the Union cabinet approved the ₹25,938-crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for automobiles and auto parts, not a single manufacturer has applied to test an electric quadricycle at the country's top vehicle testing agency, the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), to two officials aware of the development said.

Quadricycles are small four-wheelers used to carry passengers and goods, and are identified under the L7M and L7N categories of vehicles. There have been no sales of these vehicles in India in the last four fiscal years, data on the government’s Vahan registry shows.

Sales of battery-operated electric quadricycles are eligible for incentives under the PLI Auto scheme, according to publicly-available eligibility forms for the scheme, as these ‘microcars’ are classified as advanced automotive technology.

Electric quadricycles and e-rickshaws are both designed to be zero-emission means of last-mile mobility. The ministry of heavy industries has shifted a bulk of the funds allocated for e-rickshaws under PM E-drive scheme towards incentivising L5 category electric three-wheelers, due to low offtake in the category.

On 23 August, Mint reported that the government said that about 75% of the funds allocated for e-rickshaws would be transferred towards incentivising the L5category of electric three-wheelers under the scheme.

In November 2018, the ministry of road transport and highways had allowed quadricycles to be registered for non-transport use in India, introducing the product as: “…a vehicle of the size of a 3-wheeler but with 4 tyres and fully covered like a car. It has an engine like that of a 3-wheeler. This makes it a cheap and safe mode of transport for last mile connectivity.”

All manufacturers seeking incentives under the PLI-Auto scheme have to ensure their models pass the stringent localization test by the ARAI. The scheme mandates 50% localization, meaning all vehicles must source half their components from India.

In a report earlier this month, government think tank Niti Aayog had said manufacturers had made specific demands related to last-mile mobility. They had called for a ‘single-till’ approach between two critical electric mobility government schemes, PLI-Auto and PM E-drive, so that vehicles qualified for incentives under one would also qualify for incentives under the other.

The PM E-drive scheme, with a ₹10,900-crore outlay, provides an upfront capital reduction to buyers of electric vehicles in the form of a discount. Subsequently, the government reimburses manufacturers for the difference. While the localization requirements under this demand-side incentive scheme arestringent, they are different from those for the PLI-Auto scheme, which is a supply-side incentive.

Manufacturers seeking benefits under the PM E-drive scheme have to comply with a phased manufacturing programme (PMP) that lists all the components they are allowed to import, while all other parts have to be sourced locally.