Centre aiming to replace petrol, diesel-powered fleet with EVs soon: Report

CESL, the agency that handles the acquisition of EVs for the centre and the state governments, said that it has received an order of 3,500 EVs

With the procurement of 3,500 electric vehicles (EVs) on the cards, the central government is aiming to replace petrol and diesel-powered cars from its fleet with EVs. This could expand more as the automakers launch new models of such vehicles, a report by Economic Times (ET) said. 

The ET report quoted Convergence Energy Services (CESL) as saying that the program will expand as and when more affordable EVs enter the market. CESL is the government agency that handles the acquisition of EVs for the centre and the state governments. 

CESL Chief Executive Mahua Acharya told ET that the company has received orders for 3,500 vehicles. While currently, the total number of vehicles with state governments and the centre is nearly 600,000. 

Acharya further added that given the pace of adoption, the figure of 3,500 could go up to 10,000 in the next two years. 

"Given the usage patterns and economics, the fleet is one area where EV 4W sales can take off with more options being introduced in the mass market," Acharya was quoted as saying in the ET report. 

While the intention to adopt is in the right place, there are limited EV models on the road. Acharya said that for government employees, the ideal car budget is Rs 15-17 lakh. 

"We only have a few models on the road. When we offer options, only very few are accessible," she said. 

However, Tata Motors last week launched India's first sub-Rs 10 lakh EV by pricing Tiago at Rs 8.49 lakh to Rs 11.79 lakh for the first 10,000 buyers. 

In the next three years, India will most likely see 20 new models of EVs.