Auto industry body SIAM seeks sops for EVs, additional incentives for vehicle scrapping

Auto industry body SIAM on Friday sought sops to promote EVs and suggested the government to bring in additional incentives for scrapping of vehicles in the upcoming Budget. The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers emphasised on a growth oriented Budget with focus on greater allocation for capital expenditure.

"We are expecting that the government should come up with a FAME 3 like policy... Good schemes like PLI are already in place, which we are sure will continue," SIAM President Vinod Aggarwal told reporters here.

The FAME 3 (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles) scheme, if unveiled, is expected to offer financial incentives to electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers as well as government-owned buses.

The FAME 3 scheme will succeed Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme (EMPS), which was introduced when FAME 2 scheme ended on March 31, 2024.

"We are also expecting that the government could do something more on the incentives for the scrapping of vehicles, because the scrappage policy is already in place but we have not seen much impact of that," Aggarwal said.

He further said, "And so therefore, to give further boost to the scrapping of old polluting vehicles, I think something needs to be done." Aggarwal said the government should continue to take initiatives which are good for the economy.

"We anticipate that it will again be a growth oriented Budget...Which means it will be more focused on the capital expenditure, because that has a multiplier effect on all segments of the economy," he stated.

Allocation for the capital expenditure in the Interim Budget stood at Rs 11.1 lakh crore which was 11.1 per cent higher than the previous year allocation, Aggarwal stated.

"So, we are expecting that the focus on allocating more and more capex will continue," he said.
Aggarwal also urged the government to come up with some policy initiatives to boost the rural economy.

It will be good for sectors like automotive and FMCG and others if the rural economy starts doping better, he added.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present the Budget for 2024-25 in the Lok Sabha on July 23.