SUDHIR KUMAR / NEW DELHI
UNION MINISTER FOR Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has said that the country is witnessing significant growth in sales of electric vehicles and it is expected to touch one crore annual sales figure by the year 2030.
He said growth in sales of electric vehicles will generate five crore jobs. While addressing the 64th Annual Convention of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) in New Delhi today, Mr Gadkari informed that nearly 30 lakh EVs are registered in the country. He said, 45 per cent growth in sales of EV four-wheelers, and 56 percent in EV two-wheelers have been witnessed in the financial year 2023-24. He said, 400 startups have started manufacturing electric two-wheelers in the said period.
The Minister asked the automobile industry to find innovative ways to scrap old vehicles under the new scrapping policy. He said, the country has three crore end-of-life vehicles and there are not enough scrapping centres. Speaking on this occasion, Union Minister of Heavy Industries, HD Kumaraswamy said, the Indian automobile industry is one of the fastest growing sectors with a 6.8 per cent contribution in the country’s economy. He said the country is moving forward to become a global automobile hub. The Minister also said that the government has started Production Linked Incentives to help the automobile industries.
SIAM president Vinod Aggarwal said that the industry is driven towards sustainability which includes alternate fuels, electrification of vehicles, and re-circularity among others.