Electric two- and three-wheelers are becoming popular in the east and the northeast with the region contributing about 9 per cent to the total sales in India.

The Bengal government’s decision in the state budget to exempt registration duty and road tax for two- and four-wheeler EVs in the next two financial years is expected to encourage demand, industry players said.

The Centre had been advising states to offer incentives. Maharashtra, Delhi, Odisha, Gujarat and Meghalaya have these incentives in place. Bengal now follows suit.

“East is adopting to EVs very fast and the incentives will accelerate adoption,” said Anil Agarwal of Okaya Electric Vehicles, which manufactures electric two-wheelers.

“Assam, Odisha and West Bengal now contribute approximately nine per cent to total EV sales in India with Assam itself contributing five per cent,” said Agarwal.

Agarwal cited the example of Delhi where the demand rose after the state government offered the incentives. “Delhi. had the demand incentives in place for the consumers looking to buy EVs. This coupled with the sharp rise in the fuel prices created the exponential sales,” he said.

The Delhi government on Saturday launched an online portal for the purchase and registration of electric autos. The government will provide 5 per cent interest subvention on the purchase of e-autos on loans under the Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy

In Bengal, the adoption is still quite low. The incentives now put in place by the state government will spur Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs)to push for maximum dealer penetration and reach out to consumers with their lithium ion battery products.

“We will ensure maximum penetration and push our partners to reach out to customers,” said Agarwal.

Regarding charging infrastructure, he said Bengal lags behind only because there has not been much penetration.

“In Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, the OEMs selling EVs such as Tata Motors, MG are setting up charging stations and the government is also pitching in by connecting highways. Here in Bengal, once EVs start selling in numbers the charging infrastructure will be in place,” he said.

Okaya itself has set up 21 charging stations of 30 kilowatt in Bengal.

Besides OEMs, fleet operators using EVs such as Ola are also putting up charging stations at airports.

Apart from Ola, certain fleet operators adopting EVs are also taking the initiative to put up charging stations for their own cars.

“Soon the government is also expected to put up stations as adoption increases,” said the MD.