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India Slashes EV Charger Costs by Half
5 Feb
Summary
- New benchmarks for EV chargers significantly reduce costs.
- Revised costs aim to ease government fiscal burden and speed up deployment.
- Industry experts suggest market maturity is driving down hardware expenses.
India's Ministry of Heavy Industries has slashed benchmark costs for electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), a move poised to significantly reduce government subsidy payouts and accelerate the deployment of charging infrastructure. The revised benchmarks, effective from 2024, see substantial price drops; for instance, a 60kW charger is now benchmarked at ₹3.4 lakh, a steep decrease from the previous ₹7.28 lakh for a 50kW unit.
This recalibration reflects the growing maturity and scale of India's electric vehicle market. Experts like Amit Bhatt from ICCT point to economies of scale, standardization, and increased competition driven by schemes like PM E-Drive as factors lowering hardware costs. The government utilizes these benchmark costs to disburse subsidies, which can sometimes cover the entire charger expense.
However, concerns have been raised by charge point operators and manufacturers regarding the new benchmarks. Abhijeet Sinha of the Charge Point Operators Society of India expressed that these lower benchmarks might limit subsidy claims for operators who incur higher acquisition and setup costs. Furthermore, EVSE manufacturers suggest that while prices have decreased due to wider deployment, they haven't reached the government's benchmark levels due to the cost of imported components and duties.
