The government of Andhra Pradesh has decided to help its employees buy more than 100,000 electric two-wheelers. This will be done by arranging for domestic as well as global financing at attractive rates.
This order of electric two-wheelers in such large quantities will translate to Rs 500-Rs 1,000 crore worth sales for manufacturers.
India’s electric two-wheelers market stood at 152,000 units – in volume terms – during the previous fiscal year and is estimated to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 25% till March 2026.
The decision to buy electric two wheelers 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.
Presently, Andhra Pradesh has around 400,000-500,000 staff working as volunteers in village secretariats. It has prepared a plan wherein the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and financial institutions will offer loans at cheaper interest rates and enable government staff to buy electric two-wheelers.
Apart from teaming up with the central government-owned Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) that facilitates energy efficiency initiatives, the state government has invited bids from the OEMs to offer electric two-wheelers under attractive equated monthly instalments.
Major EV manufacturers such as Hero MotoCorp, Kinetic, Ampere and Okinawa are among those that have shown interest so far and the government expects to receive bids before the April 10 deadline.
The policy objective is to phase out internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by 2024. This move will likely create momentum for EVs and also help build an entire EV value chain in Tier 1 and Tier-II cities.
The state government prefers the OEMs and suppliers to meet the distribution and after-sales service needs in over 650 mandals and over 100 municipalities spread across 13 districts. Currently, the state has around 13 million vehicles, of which around 9 million are two-wheelers.
