[ad_1]
Tata Motors on Sunday said it will increase prices of its entire passenger vehicle range, including EVs, by an average of 0.7 per cent from next month.
The increase will be effective from February 1, 2024, and the step is being taken to partially offset the increase in input costs, Tata Motors said in a statement.
The company sells a number of passenger vehicles including the Punch, Nexon and Harrier.
In other news, Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles. Said that only zero emission cars can contribute to reducing air pollution, cutting rising fuel imports and achieving net zero targets.
Also read: Maruti will invest! Rs 35,000 crore for second Gujarat plant, production of first battery EV from the state
Amid demands by a certain section of the industry to cut taxes imposed on hybrid cars, Chandra said such vehicles are a key national objective to achieve net carbon-zero targets, improve air quality levels and reduce fossil fuel imports. Are not aligned with objectives.
He said hybrid and CNG technologies in cars help improve fuel efficiency and meet emission-related regulatory compliance, but cannot be compared with pure battery electric vehicles.
Speaking to PTI, Chandra said the government already supports hybrid vehicles in terms of lower taxation and there is no need to bring them at par with electric vehicles.
He said hybrid cars cannot be compared with EVs as they essentially run on polluting “fossil fuels”.
Also read: Center may give incentives to retrofit old vehicles into EVs
Chandra said there is a push to give hybrids “unnecessary status” compared to EVs. However, the government has been very supportive and firm in supporting EVs, he said.
The total tax on hybrid vehicles in the country is 43 percent, including GST, while battery electric vehicles attract about 5 percent tax.
Domestic automakers like Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra are focusing on battery electric vehicles, while Japanese automakers like Toyota, Suzuki and Honda are betting on hybrid technology in their cars in the domestic market.
A hybrid car has more than one source of power. Typically, it combines a conventional combustion engine with an electric motor to propel the vehicle.
Chandra said, “Hybrid is actually a fossil fuel vehicle that is being presented as an EV because it uses a motor and a small battery pack. Essentially it uses fossil fuels as the energy source. “
He further asked, “Why should there be a different treatment for fossil fuel based technology”.
He said the only way the automotive industry can contribute to helping the nation combat air pollution, fuel imports and the net zero target is to support zero-emission technology.
“We (EV manufacturers) need support, which is being given because of very high technology costs. Also, there is a lack of complete ecosystem of supply and charging infrastructure. We need to develop all this in the long term. Let’s play,” he said.
Chandra said that around 45-50 per cent of its EV customers in Rajasthan and Gujarat were using rooftop solar units to charge their cars and thus using renewable sources of energy.
He said that similar things may happen in other parts of the country in the coming times, which will make it possible to move away from the coal-based energy grid.
“So EVs need to be supported. If we give more support to technologies like hybrids, it will slow down the pace of adoption of zero-emission technologies,” Chandra said.
Tata Motors is expected to sell around 70,000-80,000 EV units this financial year.
The company, which now has three models to cater to different groups of customers, expects sales to exceed 1 lakh units in the next financial year.
Chandra said the company is also looking to expand exclusive showrooms for EVs at multiple locations next year.
[ad_2]
