Auto industry body SIAM on Saturday said there is a need for a long-term unambiguous electric vehicles (EVs) road map while welcoming the reduction in GST on EVs and chargers and reiterated the need for government intervention to stimulate demand to enable the auto industry to overcome the current slowdown.

Reacting to the GST council decision to reduce GST rate on EVs from 12 per cent to 5 per cent and EV chargers to 5 per cent from 18 per cent, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) President Rajan Wadhera said, “Over the years, this will help popularise electric vehicles and increase penetration in the country.”

He further said, "Government’s vision of increasing electric mobility in the country has been acknowledged by the GST council by significantly reducing GST rate on electric vehicles. We are thankful to the GST council for accepting these recommendations which were proposed by SIAM in our white paper which was released last year to promote the growth of electric vehicles in India.”

Wadhera also "pointed out that there is a need for a long term unambiguous EV roadmap".

The automotive industry is currently going through a difficult time and SIAM has requested for government intervention to stimulate demand so that the industry can turn around from the current difficulties, he added.