NEW DELHI: Hyundai has joined local car companies Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra in raising objections to any duty relaxations for hybrids, saying such a measure has the potential to disturb sales of petrol and diesel vehicles.
The demand for lower duty on strong hybrids is being raised by top Japanese companies such as Maruti Suzuki, Toyota, and Honda who argue that the technology helps reduce emissions while boosting fuel efficiency.
In the documents filed with stock market regulator Sebi for its maiden IPO, Hyundai said, “… with the objective to address climate issues, govt of India proposes to reduce GST on hybrid passenger vehicles to 5% and 12% on flex engines, while the GST on diesel and petrol vehicles is proposed to remain at 28%… In the event such amendment becomes effective, it could have an adverse impact on the sales volumes of our diesel and petrol vehicles which could affect our margins, business, and results of operations.”
Tata Motors and Mahindra have been staunch opposers to any special benefit for hybrids. The two companies have said only electrics should get the special 5% GST rate, emphasising that only “zero emission vehicles” should get benefits and not those that offer only “fuel efficiency improvement technologies”.
“So, if it’s not plugged into electricity, I don’t think it qualifies for being an electric or should be compared with an EV technology. The source of energy for a hybrid comes from two sources – regenerative braking to a small fraction, and the rest from a gasoline engine. So, effectively the source of energy for hybrids is a gasoline engine. Comparing a hybrid with an EV is very motivated as people feel that such a comparison can make hybrids qualify for policies which are supportive of electrification,” Shailesh Chandra, MD of Tata Motors’ Passenger Vehicles and Electric Mobility Divisions, had told TOI earlier.
The demand for lower duty on strong hybrids is being raised by top Japanese companies such as Maruti Suzuki, Toyota, and Honda who argue that the technology helps reduce emissions while boosting fuel efficiency.
In the documents filed with stock market regulator Sebi for its maiden IPO, Hyundai said, “… with the objective to address climate issues, govt of India proposes to reduce GST on hybrid passenger vehicles to 5% and 12% on flex engines, while the GST on diesel and petrol vehicles is proposed to remain at 28%… In the event such amendment becomes effective, it could have an adverse impact on the sales volumes of our diesel and petrol vehicles which could affect our margins, business, and results of operations.”
Tata Motors and Mahindra have been staunch opposers to any special benefit for hybrids. The two companies have said only electrics should get the special 5% GST rate, emphasising that only “zero emission vehicles” should get benefits and not those that offer only “fuel efficiency improvement technologies”.
“So, if it’s not plugged into electricity, I don’t think it qualifies for being an electric or should be compared with an EV technology. The source of energy for a hybrid comes from two sources – regenerative braking to a small fraction, and the rest from a gasoline engine. So, effectively the source of energy for hybrids is a gasoline engine. Comparing a hybrid with an EV is very motivated as people feel that such a comparison can make hybrids qualify for policies which are supportive of electrification,” Shailesh Chandra, MD of Tata Motors’ Passenger Vehicles and Electric Mobility Divisions, had told TOI earlier.
