TATA TECHNOLOGIES:
Warren Harris, CEO and MD, Tata Technologies, said “With the much-needed
Vehicle Scrappage policy, the government of India has finally set the tone for
recovery of Auto Sector which has been significantly impacted by the pandemic.
This will not only help boost the demand for production of Commercial vehicles
but also support the entire transportation ecosystem. Also, while it would have
been good to see some more initiatives to promote Electric Vehicles in this
budget, we are glad that the government has noted India’s critical role in the
global automotive supply chain post COVID 19. Specific initiatives through production
linked schemes, creation of infrastructure for R&D and enabling skill
development in new-gen technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine
Learning (ML) will help drive investment in engineering and research”.
SUN MOBILITY:
Chetan Maini, Chairman & Co-founder, SUN Mobility, noted “The Budget is
focussed on speeding up recovery post-COVID, while also providing solid
direction to do so, over the next few years, which is excellent. When it comes
to electric mobility, the main expectation was a firmer commitment from a
policy standpoint by the government for accelerating e-mobility and enabling
charging and battery swapping infrastructure in the country for the same. One
of the key measures for doing so would have been to fix the inverted duty
structure for components such as batteries from 18% to 5%, and for
charging/swapping infrastructure services from 18% to 5% as well. While this
was not mentioned during the Budget, we look forward to the GST Council taking
this up, and implementing it soon.”
He,
however, said that the announcement of the outlay of Rs 18,000 crore to support
augmentation of public bus transportation services is a welcome announcement,
along with the deployment of ‘MetroLite’ and ‘MetroNeo’ services for ease of
mobility across Tier 2 cities and peripheral areas of Tier 1 cities. This opens
up the possibilities of providing last mile connectivity in and around these
locations via electric vehicles like e-autos and e-rickshaws, provided adequate
support is given by the government for setting up charging and swapping
infrastructure.
Similarly,
he noted that the implementation of the scrappage policy is a good move, which
can be further enhanced by providing additional incentive for replacing old
vehicles with electric ones, instead of other ICE vehicles, for driving mass EV
adoption.
“The
EV industry needs to not only ‘Make in India’, but also ‘Design in India’, so
we look forward to the details of the Rs 50,000 crores Innovation and R&D
outlay that was announced, as well as the PLI scheme and how they can benefit
the sector, as these will be key enablers in making EVs take off in the
country. This will help create manufacturing global champions for an
AtmaNirbhar Bharat, boosting start-ups to achieving a USD 5 trillion economy,”
he affirmed.
OKINAWA AUTOTECH:
Jeetender Sharma, Founder & Managing Director, Okinawa Autotech said
the Budget 2021-22 effectively sets the roadmap for the next five years with a
slew of measures for overall economic growth. He said the increase in customs
duty on automobile parts will rightly encourage domestic manufacturing. He said
the industry was expecting the government to look at reducing the GST and
reconsider the current taxation framework applicable on raw material and the
final product in case of EVs which could have provided the much-needed impetus
to the industry.
ATHER ENERGY:
Tarun Mehta, Co-founder & CEO, Ather Energy said, “The voluntary vehicle
scrappage policy announced to phase out old and unfit vehicles will encourage
the sales of new vehicles. It is good to see that the government is looking at
addressing the concerns regarding GST inverted duty structure. We look forward
to more details on the inverted duty structure and the Production-linked
incentive (PLI) scheme announced by the Finance Minister.”
BRICKWORK RATINGS: Tanu
Sharma, Director Ratings, Brickwork Ratings too believed that the voluntary
vehicle scrappage policy to curb vehicular pollution and oil imports is likely
to boost demand for new passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles by phasing
out older vehicles. This could indirectly also benefit electric vehicles (EVs).
The
budget announced an outlay of Rs 18,000 crore to support the acquisition,
operations and maintenance of over 20,000 buses via a public private
partnership model, which in turn would create demand in the commercial vehicle
segments.
As
there was no specific announcement on EVs the EV ecosystem may not propel in
2021-22 as expected. The industry was also anticipating a transitory relaxation
in GST rates on vehicles, which could have catalysed demand. The absence of
these key measures has dampened the demand outlook for the auto sector, Sharma
noted.
CROSSLOOP:
Sameer Katole, CEO, Crossloop said the Finance
Minister laid major emphasis on enhancing domestic manufacturing of electronic
equipment. The Union Budget 2021 has a strong focus towards the revival of the
economy and extensive plans for Atmanirbhar Bharat. It shows extreme commitment
towards a strong comeback for the sectors which faced major backlashes in 2020.
The budget covered several demanding issues faced by the economy earlier and
with an attention concerning startup community, the extension of tax holiday
for start-ups by one more year is an important decision made. This will
encourage the survival of startups and give them the required support for
bounce back. Further, the increased spending on PLI for electronic
manufacturing schemes is a positive sign. The 2.5% taxation on manufacturing of
smartphone parts is also a vital decision as it will boost the inclusive growth
of the country and further bring major changes in the consumer electronic and
domestic manufacturing segment, Katole noted.
DETEL: Yogesh Bhatia, Founder, Detel, a company
that deals in Detel Easy, an electric two wheeler and a range of electronic
products, said that he appreciated the Government's vision of Atma Nirbhar
Bharat post the most unprecedented year of 2020. Many domestic players were
badly affected and expecting some strong moves by the government. The thrust on
automobile sustainability by introducing voluntary scrappage policy will lead
to progress in the auto sector significantly and curb pollution issues and soaring
crude oil bills.
EARTH ENERGY
EV: Rushi Shenghani, CEO
& Founder, Earth Energy EV said that the focus on the Atma Nirbhar package
will lead to sustained recovery for indigenous brands. “We are pleased to know
that after keeping the scrappage policy unclear for so long, the government is
placing voluntary scrapping policy ahead this year- the industry is going to
get a major boost and it will create demand for energy efficient
vehicles," said Shenghani.
EULER MOTORS: Saurav Kumar, Founder and CEO, Euler Motors,
a young EV company that targets the last mile delivery market with its eLCV
fleet, said that this year’s budget is a directional push to move towards clean
energy and transition towards a green economy. The outlays to tackle air
pollution and boost to non-conventional energy sectors will be key to reduce
dependence on fossil fuels and power the industrial sector and electric
transportation. The announcement of the Hydrogen Energy Mission is a step
closer for generating power through green sources and fulfil charging
requirements of EVs in the future, he said. He also welcomed the scrappage
policy. “In the commercial segment, there are large numbers of old vehicles and
the scrappage policy will boost adoption of low emission and energy efficient
vehicles, by phasing out old models. We also look forward to Government’s
continued infrastructure push with focus towards improving roadways in India.
These will provide an impetus towards modernisation and drive more consumption
in the auto segment,” he noted.
FIXCRAFT:
Vivek Sharma, Founder and CEO, Fixcraft. a network of car body shops, pointed
out that "Vehicle fitness control has always been a must. With the new scrappage policy people are
going to benefit while the process also gets accelerated at the same time. This
will also fast track the entry of EVs into the market which the government has
been pushing for so long."
GOZERO MOBILITY: Ankit Kumar, CEO, GoZero Mobility, said the
new Budget has shown that the government is looking to make great strides in
promoting its indigenous EV industry. “First is the Voluntary Vehicle Scrapping
Policy, with the intention to phase-out vehicles that are poor in fuel efficiency
off the roads. This policy would incentivise owners of old vehicles, which are
usually the ones that fit the bill, to voluntarily give up their vehicle for
scrap and look towards newer vehicles and more innovative mobility solutions.
This policy would definitely push the EV industry more into the limelight as
the public now has more reason to evaluate the economic feasibility of EVs and
e-micro mobility options like e-bikes.
“Second,
Rs. 2217 crore have been allocated to tackle the plaguing issue of air pollution,
targeting 42 cities that have a population of more than a million. This mission
would definitely entail the promotion of sustainable transportation, as
vehicular emissions constitute a major share in our cities’ air pollution. Also
coupled with the Vehicle Scrapping Policy, the auto industry can be optimistic
about seeing the rise of charging infrastructure, and bicyclists and e-bikers
could see their dreams of bicycle friendly streets being fulfilled.
“Third,
the National Hydrogen Mission with the proposal to draw energy from renewable
sources ensures that the entire value chain in energy consumption, including
for electric vehicles, would be as carbon neutral as possible. The auto and
micro-mobility industry are still holding out hope for more reforms relating to
tax structure and import duties on raw materials and components to become
friendlier in following announcements in the coming months. Seeing the pledge
taken by the government in this Budget, the industry believes that its hopes
would be fulfilled this year,” Kumar explained.