Air-quality regulator sets up expert panel to fast-track EV shift amid hybrid-policy rift

The new panel, constituted by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), comes as Delhi finalizes its electric-vehicle policy and after weeks of deteriorating air quality in the region. With EV and hybrid incentives under active review and the auto industry sharply divided on the two technologies, the committee’s recommendations are now poised to shape the next phase of the capital’s clean-transport agenda.

According to an office order dated 10 December, reviewed by Mint, the committee includes senior representatives from the ministry of road transport and highways, the ministry of heavy industries, testing agencies ICAT and ARAI, and Niti Aayog. Experts from Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and think tanks such as TERI and the International Council on Clean Transportation are also part of the group.

Its mandate is to recommend steps to reduce vehicular pollution in the national capital and to “assess technological readiness, cost implications, infrastructure requirements, incentive plans, EV demand and supply mandates (for OEMs), vehicle segment-wise feasibility and recommend a comprehensive strategy for accelerated EV transition".

Queries sent to CAQM and carmakers like Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, and Mahindra and Mahindra remained unanswered at press time.

Policy rift over hybrids vs EVs

CAQM, which works under the environment ministry, has issued several advisories this year aimed at controlling vehicular emissions. On 2 May, it urged all state and central government departments in the NCR to procure only clean vehicles, defining them as battery electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, CNG vehicles and those running on flex fuel. In the same advisory, it noted that “strong hybrid electric vehicles (SHEV) offer substantial improvements in fuel efficiency and emission reduction as compared to conventional diesel/petrol vehicles".

The mention of hybrid vehicles in the same breadth had irked EV makers such as Tata Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra, who raised their objections with the ministry of heavy industries and Niti Aayog. The 2 May advisory followed a draft of the Delhi electric vehicle policy in April that suggested both EVs and hybrids be granted relief from road and registration tax.

The equation of EVs with hybrids in the capital worries EV makers, who have repeatedly said in public forums that the country should prioritize only electric vehicles. The auto industry remains split, with Maruti Suzuki backing a technology agnostic approach which include hybrids, while Tata Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra have supported only EVs.

Some experts argue that transport emissions are among the few controllable contributors to pollution.

“While many factors, weather, dust, farm fires, and geography, affect pollution levels, transport emissions are one of the few controllable, year-round sources. EVs offer a clear advantage here because they produce zero tailpipe emissions, cutting NOx and PM2.5 right where people breathe," Anurag Singh, advisor at Primus Partners, said.

However, a few analysts have noted that promoting both EVs and hybrids together is not necessarily detrimental to the clean-fuel transition. Analysts at HSBC Global Research, in a 20 May note, backed hybrids as a bridge to pure EVs, saying that, “The latest trends reinforce our longstanding belief that India will remain a multi-powertrain country for a prolonged period…Hybrids, CNGs, and biofuels are practical medium- to long-term solutions, while the country moves towards eventual electrification."