Goa State EV Subsidy To Be Discontinued On July 31

The Department of New & Renewable Energy, Government of Goa, has issued a notice that states all electric two-, three- and four-wheelers purchased on or after July 31 will not be eligible for the State subsidy anymore. This makes the coastal tourist hub the first State to do away with EV subsidy in India.

That said, all EVs purchased between December 16, 2021 and July 31, 2022 shall continue to get their benefits under the existing scheme. The important question here is, how does this motion affect the growing EV ecosystem in one of India’s top tourist destinations?

While the circular does not dive deep on the ‘why’ of the matter, Goa’s existing EV subsidy scheme caps subsidy eligibility to only 3,000 electric two-wheelers, 50 three-wheelers and 300 four-wheelers. For a State that’s heavily dependent on tourism and rental two-/four-wheeler businesses, those numbers aren’t the most encouraging.

Although EVs make a great deal of sense in touristy destinations to help preserve the environment better, a robust infrastructure must also be put in place for easy acceptance and given Goa’s topography and high mobility requirements, rental businesses will have to navigate current challenges like range and charging infrastructure, or lack thereof, before making bulk orders.
 

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Subsidies were offered to raise awareness about, and acceptance of, EVs in the country. Given the advent of brands like Ola, Ather and Simple having broken through that barrier considerably, people aren’t exactly skeptical when it comes to switching to electric propulsion at present. 

However, these subsidies were one of the main reasons why the transition from internal combustion vehicles to EVs was so much more economical. With Goa sticking to its guns, will we see more economically-gifted States also pulling back their support for EVs soon? An interesting development in the process, we believe.