NEW DELHI: India should have “carbon-based taxation” on automakers against the current norm of technology-driven incentives and lower taxes on relatively clean technologies such as hybrids To attract new investment, Lexus is said to attract the luxury car division Japanese car giant Toyota said.
Lexus, which has started expanding in India and is getting aggressive with its cars and SUVs, which are mostly hybrids, is aiming for a tax system that rewards companies for getting products that produce a lower carbon footprint, reducing pollution in cities while helping the country reduce its fuel import bill through more fuel-efficient vehicles.
“Carbon-based taxation is the way forward. Hybrids produce less carbon than internal combustion engine vehicles (which run on gasoline and diesel). In crowded cities, hybrids will run more on electricity – coming from a battery – than on the internal combustion engine.” Naveen SoniPresident of Lexus India, to TOI.
Lexus currently sells six cars in India priced at Rs 60 lakh and up to Rs 2.8 crore (Exshowroom, Delhi) and all but one are hybrids.
The government de-incentivized hybrids a few years ago, rewarding pure electric vehicles with a lower GST regime, which stands at 5%. Hybrids, which draw power from both a large internal battery and a petrol engine, receive no special exemption and are subject to the same taxation as petrol vehicles (from 28% to over 50%).
Lexus, which has started expanding in India and is getting aggressive with its cars and SUVs, which are mostly hybrids, is aiming for a tax system that rewards companies for getting products that produce a lower carbon footprint, reducing pollution in cities while helping the country reduce its fuel import bill through more fuel-efficient vehicles.
“Carbon-based taxation is the way forward. Hybrids produce less carbon than internal combustion engine vehicles (which run on gasoline and diesel). In crowded cities, hybrids will run more on electricity – coming from a battery – than on the internal combustion engine.” Naveen SoniPresident of Lexus India, to TOI.
Lexus currently sells six cars in India priced at Rs 60 lakh and up to Rs 2.8 crore (Exshowroom, Delhi) and all but one are hybrids.
The government de-incentivized hybrids a few years ago, rewarding pure electric vehicles with a lower GST regime, which stands at 5%. Hybrids, which draw power from both a large internal battery and a petrol engine, receive no special exemption and are subject to the same taxation as petrol vehicles (from 28% to over 50%).
