Union Budget 2022 | Reactions from the auto sector

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Modi government's eighth Budget on February 1, track this blog to know how the auto sector reacted to this year's Union Budget. Stay tuned for updates.

The adoption of EV will see a significant boost in India.

By Greg Moran, CEO & Co-Founder, Zoomcar

"In this year’s budget, the Finance Minister made a couple of announcements around the auto industry that will boost the industry overall, and will also enable us to deliver better. With the reforms coming in play in the automobile industry in India the Battery Swapping Policy on being implemented efficiently will benefit the entire EV ecosystem including manufacturers and charging infrastructure players. As a result of this policy and its appropriate execution, the adoption of EV will see a significant boost in India. The government will also encourage private players to become a part of this new development and its process in setting up adequate infrastructure. While this policy will enable wide-scale adoption of electric vehicles, it will also contribute to achieving net-zero goals of the country."

Budget was very balanced for the masses

By Sandeep Aggarwal, Chairman & CEO, Droom
“In terms of the overall budget, I think the budget was very balanced for the masses. India talking about close to Rs 11 lakh crore going for capital expenditure and this is a very exceptional policy and hopefully will not only improve the infrastructure for the country but also create a significant amount of jobs. There were many announcements like putting a limit to the surcharge on a capital gain coming from the sale of stocks. There was a lot of mention of acknowledging the contribution of Startup companies. For automobile companies, the battery swapping policy for the electric vehicle once they are used for public transportation. This will indeed increase the adaption of an electric vehicle for the transportation industry. Finally, this is consistent with the prior announcement of vehicle scrappage and now on EV and focus on developing a 25,000 km of road infrastructure in the fiscal yr 2022-23 that will ultimately contribute to the higher adoption of automobiles in the country.”

The government’s focus on new age sectors is a very welcome move, and it will help improve efficiencies in various sectors like Railways, Banking and industrial production

By Raghupati Singhania, Chairman & Managing Director, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd

“The Finance Minister has delivered a Budget that was the need of the hour to help the economy emerge from the pandemic induced slowdown. Demand generation should get a boost on back of 35.4% increase in public investment, which will also provide impetus to private sector investments. Number of initiatives and schemes announced for the farm sector and the rural population should help in revival of rural economy. The government’s focus on new age sectors is a very welcome move, and it will help improve efficiencies in various sectors like Railways, Banking and industrial production.
The expansion of highways network will have a positive impact on the automotive sector. In addition, the announcement of a battery swapping policy and push for clean tech and electric vehicles will help faster evolution of EV segment in India. Further, support for new tech development in various areas of electronic sector will go a long way in decreasing the dependence on imported tech and help domestic firms overcome the global supply-chain and geopolitical issues”

The budget has sought to achieve a fine balance between fiscal consolidation with the need for continued public spending

ByToyota Kirloskar Motors,

"At Toyota Kirloskar Motor, we welcome the forward looking budget that has clearly outlined Government’s long term objectives of focusing on growth, inclusiveness, promoting technology enabled development, productivity enhancement, energy transition & climate action. The budget has sought to achieve a fine balance between fiscal consolidation with the need for continued public spending for nurturing economic growth with clear emphasis of on sustainability and infrastructure development through public-private partnerships.
The continued focus on “ease of doing business – 2.0” through trust based governance, integration of central and state level systems, enhanced infrastructure, roll out of 5-G telecom etc will help reduce transaction and logistics costs, thereby improving the competitiveness of Industry and businesses in India. These efforts will complement and be synergic with the production linked incentive (PLI) schemes already announced by the Government for fourteen sectors, including for the automotive sector.

With the Government’s push for green energy and clean mobility systems, India is on the path of limitless possibilities. As a sustainability-committed organisation, we believe that the Government’s push for clean mobility initiatives and blended fuels will play a significant role in achieving decarbonisation goals and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. One of the biggest challenges for the EV ecosystem has been battery charging stations. The proposed battery-swapping policy will help create standards of interoperability thereby making EVs more accessible and affordable.

The hon’ble PM’s Gati Shakti Initiative of expanding the National Highway network by 25,000 km will augur well for the auto sector. We hope the outlay for rural economy will improve the sentiments of people, thereby playing a catalyst for increase in vehicle demand."

Budget takes a holistic view and prioritises battery manufacturing

By Vikash Mishra, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, MoEVing

“Electric Vehicle adoption and working towards a fossil fuel free country is at the center of India's Budget 2022.Very happy to see the budget taking a holistic view and prioritizing battery manufacturing, charging infrastructure and vehicle adoption, across private and public sectors.We at MoEVing look forward to further building an ecosystem that can support implementation on ground across various stakeholders of the EV ecosystem, resulting in supporting this budget and accelerating adoption of EV, especially among the driver community this year. ”

As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her fourth Budget this year, DH takes a look at what sector experts had to say on her key announcements. Track this blog for updates