Does the FAME II bring fortune?
‘FAME’, fortune & a fickle fate in the nascent EV ecosystem in India!
FAME 2 is double the happiness!
The long-awaited FAME II scheme was finally introduced last week! All the EV makers breathed a collective sigh of relief as the FAME II doubles the outlay to INR 10 thousand crores! (Initially decided outlay was around INR 5500 crores).
The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for implementation of the second phase of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid & Electric Vehicles (FAME-II) in India, finance minister Arun Jaitley said on Thursday, 28th March.
The scheme will come in play from 1st April 2019. It is expected to run for a period of three years. This is the updated version of FAME-I scheme, launched on 1st April 2015, with an outlay of INR 895 crore.
The FAME-II will support 10 lakh 2Ws, 5 lakh 3Ws, 55,000 4Ws and 7000 buses. Further, to push newer tech, the incentives will only be for those vehicles with advanced batteries like lithium-ion battery and other new technology batteries, at about INR 10k /kWh of battery capacity. The scheme will also offer exemption from road tax and registration charge.
With this scheme, there is also a big focus on the Charging Infrastructure, with at least one charging station in a grid of 3km* 3km. The charging infra is also proposed on major highways connecting major city clusters. Charging stations will be established on both sides of the highway at an interval of about 25 km.
The FAME-II will support 10 lakh 2Ws, 5 lakh 3Ws, 55,000 4Ws and 7000 buses, at about INR 10k /kWh of battery capacity for vehicles & INR 20k/kWh for buses.
The Progressive Indian States ahead of the game.
Of the 29 states in the Indian Republic, seven states have already introduced EV policies, with Karnataka being one of the earliest, in September 2017. Seven more states in coming up with their own EV policies and two of these are in draft status.
The table below summarizes the key points of each of these policies. It is important to note that almost all the states have incentives set out for both the manufacturers of EVs as well as for the public.
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh & Maharashtra clearly recognize the coming wave of Electric Vehicles as an up-skilling opportunity for its people — Karnataka pegs the employment opportunities at 55K while AP targets 60K. Maharastra, one of the larger Automotive centers of the country targets generating 100,000 jobs through its EV policy!
Delhi is the site of most EV pilots, thanks to its proximity to govt. bodies like NITI Aayog & EESL, as well its ignominy of being the most polluted capital city in the world. Last November, it introduced the draft EV policy, which is one of the most comprehensive so far. The policy, which is to run for 5 years, targets having 25% electrification by 2023.
The Great Electric Race Begins!
The day the EV Policy came out, Anand Mahindra tweeted, congratulating the govt. and saying that “The Great Electric Race begins now!”
The policy is a huge relief for many, if not all EV Makers & startups in the Indian Ecosystem. The multiple extensions of the FAME I scheme, the many ‘almost’ EV policy announcements (MOVE Summit in Sep 2018, for example) and general back-and-forth on EV targets (from 100% electric by 2030 to 30% to 15% electric, “no Hybrids” vs. “Hybrids also”) had led to paralysis in the nascent EV space.
Having a clear policy provides a clear roadmap for large OEMs as well as young start-ups. At Orxa Energies, we are working on a fully-electric performance motorcycle, intended as a no-compromise shift from current petrol equivalents. So the heavy focus on Two-wheelers, which make up 80% of our roads is pretty amazing. And, the emphasis on advanced lithium battery technologies and the incentive based on per kWh of battery capacity are a huge push for young, IP-driven startups like us!
Now, the Great Electric Race has well and truly begun. We look forward to this “Race to the Start”!
Orxa Energies builds performance Electric Vehicles & the associated Energy Ecosystem. We believe that battery swap will rapidly electrify shared mobility. Our first vehicle is the Mantis — a fully-electric performance motorcycle, designed to fit seamlessly into your lifestyle. Our battery packs are already in pilots with our customers.
We previously wrote about the issues faced by hardware startups in a software-obsessed startup ecosystem (link), and about our survival guide for other hardware startups getting into this space (link).
References: The links to the State EV policies
ANDHRA PRADESH (http://bit.ly/ap-ev-policy)
MAHARASHTRA (http://bit.ly/maharashta-ev-policy)
KARNATAKA (http://bit.ly/karnataka-ev-policy)
KERALA (https://icfoss.in/doc/Draft-EV-policy.pdf)
DELHI (http://bit.ly/delhi-ev-policy)
UTTAR PRADESH (http://bit.ly/up-ev-policy)
TELANGANA (http://bit.ly/telangana-draft-ev-policy)
