The launch of electric ambulances (e-Ambulances) under the Prime Minister Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) Scheme could take more time, as only three companies — Force Motors, Maruti Suzuki India and Tata Motors — are expected to participate.
The Scheme kicked off in September last year, but no headway has yet been made as companies are yet to launch the vehicles.
The government has allocated ₹500 crore for this particular segment under the scheme. Maruti Suzuki MD and CEO, Hisashi Takeuchi, recently said that the company is currently manufacturing the vehicle and will take some more time to launch it.
“We are just starting (to manufacture)... It’s difficult to give a timeline, but currently we are working on this project,” Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, MSIL told businessline.
Queries sent to Force Motors and Tata Motors elicited no response by the time of going to press.
According to sources at Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI), Force Motors was the first company to show interest in participating in the Scheme, and had even promised to launch an e-Ambulance by March this year.
However, due to the delay in the launch of the vehicles, the MHI has not yet notified guidelines for the subsidies under the PM E-DRIVE scheme. The MHI has now also included hybrid ambulances in the same scheme, which would offer subsidies and demand incentives to promote adoption.
Out of the total outlay of ₹10,900 crore of the PM E-DRIVE scheme, the government has reserved ₹500 crore for the deployment of e-Ambulances.
The MHI is working with other Ministries, such as Health and Road Transport, to finalise performance and safety guidelines for e-Ambulances.
“We are not pushing much for the guidelines for the e-Ambulances because there is no vehicle made yet. There is no homologation yet also of any vehicle (from agencies like ARAI or iCAT), it is all under process,” a senior official at MHI said.
The PM E-DRIVE scheme was launched to support electric mobility through support for 14,028 e-Buses, 2,05,392 e-3 Wheelers (L5), 1,10,596 e-Rickshaws and e-Carts, and 24,79,120 e-2 Wheelers. In addition, e-Trucks, the scheme also supports e-Ambulances, EV public charging stations and the upgradation of testing agencies.