BMW India has asked the state governments to remove the ceilings on the price of electric cars that qualify for road-tax benefits while promoting clean energy. The luxury carmaker said restricting the road-tax exemption or concession on electric vehicles (EVs) based on their price was unfair and added that premium cars should be given the same consideration as the affordable ones. It said states imposing such restrictions were discouraging the purchase of high-end electric cars that do not come with a hefty price tag but provide the same amount of benefit in terms of cutting down emissions of greenhouse gases. It added that equal treatment of all electric vehicles would promote the use of clean energy and the transition from petrol and diesel vehicles to electric ones.
State governments in India impose a restriction on the maximum price of an electric car on which the road-tax concession can be claimed. BMW India said such a move was unfair, as it put high-end electric cars at a disadvantage. It pointed out that electric cars, cheap or expensive, have the same amount of benefit in terms of cutting down emissions of greenhouse gases and reducing the dependency on fossil fuels. The automaker added that equal tax treatment of all electric vehicles will help in boosting the electric-vehicle sector and in bringing more luxury electric cars into the market. Moreover, it will lead to the development of affordable electric cars as well as promote healthy competition within the electric-vehicle sector. That is because high-end electric cars include technologies that eventually trickle down to the affordable EVs. In addition, removing the restrictions on the price of an electric car will have a positive impact on the environment as it will reduce noise pollution, carbon emissions, and smog.
India is promoting electric mobility through a slew of central and state subsidies. Cheap electric cars and scooters have benefited from this move, but premium automakers feel that they have been overlooked in the push for electric vehicles. High-end electric vehicles should be treated the same way as their affordable counterparts, said BMW India, adding that wealthy buyers who purchase expensive cars do not have a lower impact on the environment. The luxury automaker urged policymakers to remove the restrictions on the price of electric cars so that all of them, cheap and expensive, could enter the market. It argued that the uniformity in tax treatment would show that India wants to induce healthy competition within the electric-vehicle sector and, therefore, wanted to treat all the electric cars on the same grounds.