PM E-Drive E-Scooter Subsidy Has Ended — What Electric Scooters Cost From August 2026
The ₹5,000 central incentive on electric two-wheelers lapsed on 31 July 2026. Here is what changed on price, which benefits survive, and how the maths looks now
Update, 9 August 2026 — the deadline passed and was not extended
The PM E-Drive demand incentive for electric two-wheelers lapsed on 31 July 2026. No extension has been notified, so electric scooters registered from 1 August 2026 receive no central cash subsidy — an effective price rise of up to ₹5,000 even where the sticker price has not moved. Three-wheelers, e-rickshaws and e-carts are unaffected and keep central support to 31 March 2028, and electric cars never had a central cash subsidy. State purchase subsidies and road-tax waivers are untouched and now account for most of the saving available to a scooter buyer.
To see what you still qualify for, use the EV subsidy calculator, or check whether the sums still work with the electric scooter vs petrol calculator, which already reflects the ended incentive.
July 31, 2026 is the last day of the central government's purchase incentive on electric two-wheelers. Under the PM E-Drive scheme, the e-2W demand subsidy window — already extended by four months from the original March 31, 2026 cut-off — closes today, and the Ministry of Heavy Industries has not announced a further extension. Unless a fresh allocation is cleared, electric scooter on-road prices are set to rise by up to ₹5,000 from August 1.
The target has already been exceeded
The scheme has comfortably overshot what it set out to do. PM E-Drive has now supported more than 27 lakh electric two-wheelers against an original target of 24.79 lakh, while electric three-wheeler support has crossed 2.97 lakh units against a 2.89 lakh target. Of the roughly ₹1,772 crore earmarked for e-2W subsidies, about ₹1,259.9 crore had already been disbursed by the end of March 2026. With the money largely spent and the unit cap passed, the government is understood to be evaluating a fresh budgetary allocation rather than simply rolling the existing scheme forward. Nothing has been notified yet, so buyers should treat today as a hard deadline.
Why prices are likely to move on August 1
Manufacturers have been preparing for this for weeks. Bajaj Auto told its Chetak dealers in a mid-June circular to upload all pending subsidy claims immediately and said a cut-off date would follow, after which the PM E-Drive benefit would be "removed from price". TVS Motor and Hero MotoCorp are reported to have sent similar instructions to their dealer networks. In practice that means the discount currently baked into the ex-showroom price of models such as the Bajaj Chetak, Ather Rizta, TVS iQube and Hero VIDA VX2 disappears once the window shuts — a straight increase of up to ₹5,000 for buyers who wait.
How much the subsidy was worth
The incentive is set at ₹2,500 per kWh of battery capacity, capped at ₹5,000 per vehicle — half the earlier ₹5,000-per-kWh, ₹10,000-cap rate that applied before April 1, 2025. To qualify, an electric two-wheeler must carry an ex-factory price of up to ₹1.5 lakh. That covers most mainstream commuter scooters, so the discount shows up on the models the majority of buyers are actually shopping for.
What happens to the rest of PM E-Drive
Only the two-wheeler window is closing. PM E-Drive was launched in October 2024 with a total outlay of ₹10,900 crore covering e-2Ws, e-3Ws, e-buses, e-trucks, e-ambulances and charging infrastructure. Subsidies for electric three-wheelers, including e-rickshaws and e-carts, continue until March 31, 2028, and the charging-infrastructure and e-bus components are unaffected by today's deadline. So the change is specific to scooter and motorcycle buyers.
What buyers should do
If a subsidised electric scooter is on your shortlist, completing the purchase and registration today is the difference between paying the current price and paying up to ₹5,000 more. Confirm with the dealer that the model is registered under PM E-Drive and that the incentive is actually reflected in the on-road price. Remember the central subsidy stacks on top of state-level benefits and road-tax waivers, which vary widely and are unaffected by this deadline — our state-by-state EV subsidy guide and the EV subsidies hub break down what you can claim where.
The bottom line
₹5,000 is real money on a ₹1 lakh scooter, and from tomorrow it is likely to come off the table until the government decides on a fresh allocation. If the extension does come through, buyers get the same ₹2,500 per kWh capped at ₹5,000 — but that is not confirmed, and planning around a subsidy that has not been notified is a gamble. If you have settled on a model, buy before the window closes. Compare current options in our electric scooter catalog or read the top 5 electric scooters guide.
Sources
Scheme details as reported by Autocar India · Business Standard · BikeDekho · PM E-Drive (Ministry of Heavy Industries)