The Andhra Pradesh government has announced providing affordable financing options for 100,000 electric two wheelers to its employees. The state government will tie up with both domestic and global financing companies to provide the service at attractive rates. The government is claiming that Andhra Pradesh will be the first state to buy electric two-wheelers in such large quantities and it will translate to Rs. 500-Rs 1,000 crore worth sales for manufacturers. The move comes soon after the state bought thousands of four-wheelers and trucks for use as ambulances, public distribution system vehicles and garbage pick-up trucks in recent months.
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Hero Electric has also shown interest in the new initiative.
In terms of volumes, India's electric two-wheelers market stood at 152,000 units in the last fiscal year and is estimated to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 25 per cent till March 2026. Andhra Pradesh has around four to five lakh staff working as volunteers in village secretariats and it has chalked out a plan wherein automakers and financial institutions will offer loans at cheaper interest rates to government staff, enabling them to buy electric two-wheelers. The state government has invited bids from the OEMs to offer electric two-wheelers under attractive equated monthly instalments, and previously had joined hands with the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) as well to procures electric vehicles.
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EV manufacturers such as Hero MotoCorp, Kinetic, Ampere and Okinawa have already showed interest and the state government expects to receive bids from them before the April 10 deadline. The state has taken the initiative in a bid to phase out internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by 2024.
Source: ET Auto
