Over 400 Tata Nexon EV deliveries held up in Maharashtra

The government of Maharashtra’s recently announced EV policy has doubled the footfalls at Tata showrooms for the Nexon EV, but issues in the implementation of the subsidies at the dealer level has been causing massive delays in vehicle delivery.

• Select Nexon EV variants qualify for subsidy of up to Rs 2.5 lakh
• More than 400 customers affected in the state
• EV scooter brands continue sales without subsidy benefits

Tata Nexon EV deliveries: what’s causing the delays?

According to sources, the state government is yet to begin implementation of the EV Policy that includes notifying each manufacturer and setting up of a dedicated portal for them to apply for the subsidy. So, while customers want the vehicles with the price deduction and Tata motors wants to pass it on to them, the deliveries cannot take place due to the mentioned issue.

Tata Nexon EV deliveries: over 400 customers affected

According to dealers, a few variants of the Nexon EV – like the XM, XZ+ (White, Teal Blue and Silver shades) – qualify for the newly introduced Maharashtra electric vehicle subsidy. Deliveries of these variants are currently on hold as the manufacturer is not able to pass on the subsidy benefits to the customer. 

We are told that there are more than 400 Nexon EV units built by the manufacturer, but are yet to be dispatched and delivered. The Nexon EV Lux and the Black edition versions do not qualify for the above mentioned subsidy and are thus available for delivery.

Tata Nexon EV deliveries:  how big is the price cut?

For electric four-wheelers registered before December 31, 2021, the policy provides a basic incentive of Rs 5,000 per kWh of the vehicle battery capacity, with maximum incentive capped at Rs 1.50 lakh.  Buyers will also be eligible for early bird incentives (on purchase of vehicle before December 31, 2021) This means, buyers of the Neon EV’s qualifying variants get Rs 2.5 lakh off (Rs 1.5 lakh as subsidy and Rs 1 lakh for early bird incentive), dropping the vehicle price by a huge margin.

Tata Nexon EV deliveries: customers shift to lower variants

Dealers tell us that a huge number of customers have shifted their bookings from the top-spec Nexon EV Lux and the Nexon EV Black editions to the mid variants, as the higher variants do not qualify for the subsidy benefits, thus significantly increasing the price gap between them. 

Maharashtra EV policy: do the MG ZS EV and Hyundai Kona qualify?

The subsidy benefits for the Maharashtra EV policy are above the ones offered by the Central Government under the FAME II scheme, which requires vehicles to be priced under Rs 15 lakh to qualify for the subsidies. This means that other electric SUVs like the MG ZS EV and the Hyundai Kona do not qualify for these benefits.

Maharashtra EV policy: two wheeler deliveries continue without subsidy

For two-wheelers and three-wheelers, the maximum incentive under the Maharashtra EV policy has been capped at Rs 10,000 and Rs 30,000, respectively. We are told that Ather has been delivering its electric scooters from is Mumbai outlet without any subsidy benefits. Also, prices for the recently launched Ola Scooter have been announced without the aforementioned benefits.