Tax carbon emission instead of blanket ban on non-electric vehicles, says CII President

CII President Vikram Kirloskar feels that the Centre should tax carbon emission instead of going for a blanket ban on the sale of non-electric vehicles.

“Don’t say don’t do X and don’t do Y. Reduce your carbon consumption. Incentivise the carbon or punish the carbon and let the market decide,” he told BusinessLine when asked about the recent proposal to ban the sale of non-electric two-wheelers. Kirloskar is also the Vice Chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Motor and the Toyota Kirloskar Auto Parts Private Ltd.

The Centre is said to be deliberating on a ban on the sale of non-electric three-wheelers from April 2023. A ban of non-electric two-wheelers having a capacity of less than 150 cc from April 2025 is also being considered.

“I wish the policy is on carbon reduction. Our objectives as per Paris commitments is to reduce the carbon. So make carbon reduction as the objective don’t tell what technology. It may be electric, it maybe methane from grass, it may be anything. Let the market decide the most appropriate technology. Tax high carbon and that’s not only applicable to vehicles, that is applicable to any industrial appliance. Tax high carbon and reduce, incentivise low carbon, that’s all we are saying. That is a long-term policy of 40 years we can make,” he said.

No meaningful experience

Taking a harsher view on proposals to ban non-EVs, Rajan Wadhera, President, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, said, “None of the stakeholders in the country – industry, government nor the suppliers have any meaningful experience of EVs to even contemplate a complete 100 per cent shift.” “In the current scenario, any policy to accelerate the transition to EVs would lead to a policy induced disruption which could result in significant damage to the auto industry and spell a big blow to the overall ecosystem of these MSMEs, with its related impact on employment,” he added.