The Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) has modified the incentives for electric three-wheelers (e-3W) under the PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) program.

The incentives have been modified for two segments.

For the first segment (registered e-rickshaws and e-carts), the Ministry reduced the incentives to ₹2,500 (~$28.56)/kWh, capped at ₹12,500 (~$142.79) per vehicle for the financial year (FY) 2026, from ₹5,000 (~$57.12)/kWh, capped at ₹25,000 (~$285.59) per vehicle for FY 2025. The maximum number of such vehicles supported under the program remains at 39,034.

The highest vehicle ex-factory price to qualify for the incentives is ₹250,000 (~$2,855.87). The total incentive outlay will come up to ₹500 million (~$5.71 million).

Incentives for the second segment (e-3W registered under L5 category) have been reduced to ₹2,500 (~$28.56)/kWh, capped at ₹25,000 (~$285.59) per vehicle for those registered on the government’s Vahan portal from November 8, 2024, to March 31, 2026. The number of such vehicles supported under the program during this period has been increased to 208,263.

The earlier incentive, for vehicles registered on the portal from April 1, 2024, to November 7, 2024, was ₹5,000 (~$57.12)/kWh, capped at ₹50,000 (~$571.17) per vehicle. The number of supported vehicles during this period was 80,546.

The highest vehicle ex-factory price to qualify for the incentives is ₹500,000 (~$5,711.74). The total incentive outlay will come up to ₹8.57 billion (~$97.9 million).

MNRE added that the proposed incentive amount per kWh is subject to review per the vehicle cost reductions. The incentive outlay of the Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme-2024 will be subsumed within the PM E-DRIVE outlay.

Along with these reductions for both segments, the incentive amount can be capped at 15% of the ex-factory price of e-2W or e-3W, whichever is lower.

In July this year, MHI amended the Phased Manufacturing Programme for the electric vehicle public charging stations component of PM E-DRIVE. According to the Ministry’s revised guidelines, domestic manufacturing of charger enclosures or panels, internal wiring harnesses, and IS/IEC 60309 connectors must have commenced by December 1, 2021.

Software/mobile applications for the Open Charge Point Protocol, as well as the central server, must be developed indigenously from the same date. Auxiliary power supply, DC meters, and output switchgears, such as DC contactors, relays, voltage/current isolators, and fuses, must have been domestically manufactured from June 1, 2022.