Telangana govt to offer Rs 15,000 for converting auto-rickshaws into electric vehicles

HYDERABAD: In a bid to reduce carbon footprint, the State government is planning to convert old auto-rickshaws that have been on the roads for more than 10 years and have high levels of emission, into electric vehicles (EVs).

According to Telangana State Renewable Energy Development Corporation (TSREDC), around 5,000 old auto-rickshaws, including 500 ones in Hyderabad alone, would be retrofitted with electric engines as part of the project’s Phase-1. 

In this process, diesel/ petrol engines would be replaced with electric ones and some changes would be made to turn them into EVs.

Speaking to Express, N Janaiah, Managing Director of TSREDCO, said that they have asked Regional Transport Authority (RTA) to identify old autos and the process of retrofit would start at the earliest.

“There is an urgent need to phase out old vehicles in order to reduce pollution levels and  to shift towards EV mobility,” he said.

It would cost around Rs 75,000 to Rs 90,000 to retrofit an old auto-rickshaw into an EV. For this, the State would provide a subsidy to the tune of Rs 15,000 per vehicle and owners need to bear the remaining cost. 

These auto-rickshaws would come with a capacity of 4 kWh to 8 kWh. This process is being take up as part of Telangana Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy (2020-2030) to develop a complete ecosystem domestically around EVs, including manufacturing of batteries and all other components to make the electric vehicle and energy storage solutions sector competitive in the near term.

This apart, the government had already announced that 100 per cent road tax and registration fee exemption would be given for the first 20,000 electric three-wheelers, and the first 10,000 electric light goods carriers including three-wheelers.