Compared to 9,415 e-vehicles registered in 2020-21, the number of registrations increased to 23,786 in just nine months of 2021-22 (April 1 to December 27 this year).
Officials said the total e-vehicles registered in Maharashtra so far are 57,386 and there are indications that it will cross the one lakh mark in a few months.
The data shows that the growth of e-vehicles in Mumbai was also good at 112%. From just 48 new e-vehicles registered in 2017-18, the number increased to 132 in 2018-19, 642 in 2019-20 and 1,442 in 2020-21. In the nine months of 2021-22, registrations on 3,059 new e-cars/e-two wheelers have more than doubled. The total electric vehicles in Mumbai are now around 6,000. The registrations were maximum in the island city, Tardeo has registered 1,920 e-cars/scooters so far.
Anand Surve, who recently bought an e-scooter, says that it is convenient to charge the battery. “I take out the battery from the two wheeler and take it to my second floor housing Ghatkopar Where I charge it late at night for a few hours. The next day, I put it back on the scooter and it gives me good mileage throughout the day.” Also, the fuel cost is around Re 1 per km as compared to Rs 6-8 per km for diesel, said sources.
Among the new registrations were cars and SUVs with a higher range of 300 km for a single (full) charge and enough for intra-city travel and also for inter-city. Over a hundred housing societies in Mumbai now have e-charging points within the complex, with a concessional rate of Rs 5.50 per unit which is less than the residential electricity charges.
Electric car owner Akshay Sawant said more government subsidies are needed and the cost of e-cars (and batteries) is coming down. “Sales will increase only when the prices of electric scooters or cars are at par with diesel/petrol variants,” he suggested.
transportation specialist Pranav Naik, “Our government needs to see the sustainability of this system by ensuring that electricity generation is largely through sustainable sources and not coal, gas and thermal as is the case now. They should also be promoted by public transport. should be given so that more people share e-vehicles.”
City transport activist Gaurang Vora while welcoming the development of e-vehicles said that e-scooters and e-cars with green number plates are visible on the road. “Environmentally friendly modes of fueling are the need of the hour. Government should facilitate maximum usage by providing subsidy in the purchase of e-vehicles. This will reduce pollution to a great extent.”
A government official said plans are underway for 1,500 new EV charging stations in the Mumbai region. The government also wants to ensure that 10% of new vehicle registrations are electric vehicles by 2025, he said.. by 2025.
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