India drops excise duty on electric bikes
India, the seventh largest but second most populous country in the world, has good reason to encourage electric vehicle sales, considering that its automobile market is growing very rapidly. Pollution could become a much larger problem than it already is if steps are not taken to manage it now. India's government realizes this fact, which led it to recently waive the excise duty for electric cars. Up until now, though, the tax has stood at 8 percent for electric bikes. Not anymore, as both two- and three-wheeled electric bikes are now duty-free, enabling them to be more cost-competitive against the gasoline-powered motorcycles they compete with. According to The Economic Times, electric cycles currently cost between Rs 20,000 to Rs 36,000. After the excise waiver goes into effect, the price for electric bikes should drop by Rs 1,800 to Rs 2,400.[Source: The Economic Times]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kevin Nugent 7:11PM (4/30/2008)
That makes ALOT more sense. ADDING TO THE FACT that these countries are growing so fast they truly are putting a strain on our fuel demand
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raju 2:43AM (5/02/2008)
It is really nice that the electric cars will be cheaper now more people will opt for it. I read about it on another site with more details to it. Others can check out too.
http://blog.carazoo.com/2008/04/electric-cars-get-subsidy-in-delhi.html
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umurali2000 2:55AM (10/10/2009)
This is a great move by the govt...useful site regarding electric vehicles in India - http://www.evhub.biz
total list of electric bike companies and their products @ http://www.evhub.biz/ebikehome
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