E-vehicles charm coastal Karnataka; 450 of them sold in one year

Team Udayavani, Mar 2, 2021, 5:38 PM IST

Mangaluru: Rising fuel prices and the benefit of subsidy is slowly making people from Karavali become attracted to eco-friendly electric vehicles with 450 of them hitting the road this year.

Karnataka was the first State to implement an e-vehicle policy. The Central government and many State governments too have put special emphasis on the sale of electric vehicles.

In Dakshina Kannada district, between January 1, 2020, and February 24, 2021, 284 e-vehicles were registered that included autorickshaws, four-wheelers and two-wheelers.

While in Udupi district, during the same time, 166 e-vehicles were registered.

Presently, e-scooters are available for around Rs 90,000. They possess a range of about 100 kilometres once fully charged.

While the sales of e-vehicles are increasing there are some shortages in these vehicles.

Converting ordinary autos to electric ones costs around Rs 1 lakh. Battery prices of most of these vehicles are expensive, thus there is a need for the government to increase the subsidy granted for them.

Additionally, many users say that the speed of electric vehicles is slower compared to petrol vehicles.

Sadananda, the owner of an electric shop here, said that petrol-powered scooters can also be converted to electric ones and many people are coming forward for this.

Electric vehicle registrations are likely to increase this year compared to last year. In the first two months of 2021 itself, 111 vehicles were registered.

The State government has already set up fast-charging DC stations in various parts of Bengaluru through BESCOM to support e-vehicles.

It has also planned to set up charging stations in Mangaluru too. One station from a private company is already in operation.

– Naveen Bhat Ilantila