Centre announces new scheme for two-wheeler, three-wheeler EVs, e-rickshaws

The Centre on Wednesday announced a new scheme, the Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme (EMPS), 2024, to promote the sale of electric two and three-wheelers. Heavy Industries Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey said that the Centre has allocated Rs 500 crore for the new scheme, which will be valid for four months from now. The scheme will be launched on April 1, CNBC TV18 reported.

Vehicle Type                            Quantity                    Incentive (per KWH)    Cap
Electric Two-Wheelers (e2w)    3.37 lakh                   Rs 5000            Rs 10000
Electric Three-Wheelers (e3w)  41306                       Rs 5000            Rs 25000
Electric Rickshaws (e ricks)    13590                          Rs 5000            Rs 25000
Large Electric Three-Wheelers (L5 e3w)    25238      Rs 5000            Rs 50000

Last week, it was reported that the Centre extended the FAME-II (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing Electric Vehicles) scheme by four months. The scheme was to expire on March 31. However, the government denied the reports and said it has not extended the flagship scheme. The Ministry of Heavy Industries said the Centre has not granted a temporary four-month extension to the scheme till July 31, with an outlay of Rs 500 crore for the period.

In February, the Heavy Industries Ministry had said that subsidies under the second phase of the FAME Scheme will be eligible for e-vehicles sold till March 31, 2024, or till the time funds are available. 

It also said that the outlay of the FAME-II programme was increased from Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 11,500 crore.

Under the new scheme, the incentive for e2w was slashed from Rs 22,500 to Rs 10,000. For e3w, the incentive has been set at Rs 25,000 for e-rickshaws and Rs 50,000 for e3w with a higher battery capacity.

Launched in 2019, FAME II has provided subsidies on sales of nearly 1.2 million two-wheelers, 141,000 three-wheelers, and 16,991 four-wheelers, as per government data. More than Rs 5,829 crore has been disbursed under the FAME II scheme.