Keralam has reduced road taxes on electric cars. Which cars will benefit? Tata, MG, Maruti, Hyundai, Citroen, Mahindra EVs.

In the budget presented by the Chief Minister of Kerala last week, the road tax for certain categories of electric cars has been reduced. Therefore, this is an opportune time for those looking to buy electric cars with an ex-showroom price below ₹40 lakhs. At a time when the thought of buying an electric car is becoming widespread to avoid being affected by rising petrol and diesel prices as well as BS7 norms/ Ethanol threats, this tax exemption will boost EV sales.

Price Range: Up to ₹10 Lakhs

The road tax for electric cars with an ex-showroom price up to ₹10 lakhs has been reduced from 5% to 3%. This benefit will primarily apply to vehicles like the Tata Tiago and MG Comet. All variants of these models will benefit, as their pricing ranges from ₹7 lakhs to just under ₹10 lakhs. The base variant of the Tata Punch EV is also priced below ₹10 lakhs, so its tax will also decrease.

Example: For a car with an ex-showroom price of ₹9 lakhs, the road tax will drop from ₹45,000 to ₹27,000.

Price Range: ₹10 Lakhs to ₹20 Lakhs

The tax for electric cars priced between ₹10 lakhs and ₹15 lakhs will remain at 5%. Meanwhile, the tax for vehicles priced between ₹15 lakhs and ₹20 lakhs has been reduced from 8% to 5%. This means that electric cars with an ex-showroom price between ₹10 lakhs and ₹20 lakhs will now have a flat 5% tax in Kerala.

Example: For a car with an ex-showroom price of ₹10 lakhs (in the higher bracket) where a tax of ₹80,000 had to be paid earlier, a tax of ₹50,000 is now sufficient.

Vehicles like the Tata Punch, Nexon, and MG Windsor will see significant benefits. The price of the Citroën eC3 is also in this range. Since the Maruti e-Vitara and certain variants of Hundai Creta EV and MG ZS are priced below ₹20 lakhs, their road tax will also decrease.

Popular Electric Vehicles (EVs) Available in the ₹10 Lakh to ₹20 Lakh Price Range:

Tata Punch EV: Price: ₹9.69 lakh – ₹12.59 lakh (Ex-showroom)

Tata Nexon EV: Price: ₹12.49 lakh – ₹17.19 lakh (Ex-showroom)

MG Windsor EV: Price: ₹14.00 lakh – ₹18.31 lakh (Ex-showroom)

Maruti Suzuki e Vitara: Price: ₹17.00 lakh – ₹22.50 lakh (Ex-showroom)

MG ZS EV: Price: ₹17.99 lakh – ₹20.50 lakh (Ex-showroom)

Hyundai Creta EV: Three variants are priced below ₹20 lakhs.

Mahindra BE 6: Only the base variant has an ex-showroom price below ₹20 lakhs.

Higher Price Brackets

For electric vehicles priced between ₹20 lakhs and ₹40 lakhs, the tax is 10%. If the price goes above ₹40 lakhs, the tax rate is 15%.