Government notifies second phase of PM e-Drive to extend subsidies on cargo three-wheelers

Buyers of cargo electric three-wheelers will continue to avail the subsidy benefit as the government has advanced the second phase of incentives for such vehicles under the Rs 10,900-crore PM e-Drive Scheme.

The move comes as the subsidy allocation for the ongoing financial year on L5 category electric three-wheelers has already exhausted with the registration of over 80,000 such vehicles till November 7.

Also, the subsidy amount has been capped at Rs 25,000 per vehicle, down to half from Rs 50,000 per vehicle for the 80,546 vehicles registered between April 1 and November 7, 2024.

According to the latest notification published on November 26, up to 1,24,846 vehicles to be registered on the Vahan portal from November 8, 2024 to March 31, 2026 will be able to avail subsidies at reduced rate of Rs 2,500/kWh, down from Rs 5,000/kWh in phase I.

When the scheme was announced in September this year, 80,546 electric three-wheeler cargo vehicles were targeted to be supported for FY25 and 1,24,846 units for FY26.

The target for FY25 has been achieved much ahead of schedule, prompting the government to advance the second phase that was originally scheduled to kick in from April 1 next year.