According to two sources, Uttar Pradesh would not withdraw the decision to reject registration duties on hybrid vehicles, so supporting Toyota and concurrently hurting Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra.
Ten percent of the country’s car sales are accounted for by Hyundai, Kia Motors, Mahindra, and Tata. These companies lobbied the government to do away with the incentive, claiming it would affect investment strategies and make it more difficult to meet India’s targets for the adoption of fully electric vehicles.
At a meeting between state officials and automakers on Sunday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh said there would not be a reversal of the decision, according to an industry source and a state government official with direct knowledge that was shared with the newswire.
Executives note that EV makers are concerned that other states would follow Uttar Pradesh’s lead, which eliminated registration fees on some hybrid cars last month, resulting in a 10% price cut.
According to one of the sources, officials from Maruti and Toyota, who support the scheme, as well as those from Hyundai, Mahindra, and Tata, who wanted the tax waivers to be reversed, attended the meeting.
Mahindra declined to comment, and Reuters was unable to get prompt reactions from the other automakers.
India urges a federal tax of 5% on EVs while hybrids are taxed at 43%, just below the 48% for gasoline cars. Local governments set additional state road and registration taxes.
