State Keen On Pay-By-Use Electric Auto Conversion

Hyderabad: In a bid to reduce pollution, the government is working on a pay-as-you-go subscription model that would allow fossil fuel-powered autorickshaws to be converted into electric vehicles without burdening vehicle owners with conversion costs.

In the first phase, the government aims to convert around 25,000 diesel and petrol autorickshaws registered and operating in Hyderabad into electric vehicles. If successful, the plan could be expanded to include similar vehicles registered in areas outside the Outer Ring Road but operating within ORR limits.

The total number of autorickshaws plying in the city within ORR limits every day is 1.5 lakh. It is estimated that approximately 30,000 of these are diesel-powered.

Although the government encouraged autorickshaw owners to convert their vehicles to electric, the result was not as expected. However, some people convert their vehicles to LPG or CNG. The conversion cost per vehicle is between 1 lakh to 5 lakh, which will have to be borne by the vehicle owner.

“Due to the higher upfront cost, hardly anyone has taken up the conversion except a few people who have come forward to convert their vehicles to LPG or CNG fueled vehicles. The proposed plan addresses these concerns and the government is likely to take a decision in this regard soon,” the official said.

To overcome this obstacle, the government is in talks with some companies that initially want to bear the conversion costs and get their investment back from vehicle owners in the form of a daily subscription fee.

“The aim is to have a daily subscription fee system that will not impose too much burden. The company will convert the vehicle and install a charging point at the autorickshaw owner’s home.

The vehicle owner will have to pay a certain amount each day, based primarily on the power consumed to charge the vehicle. “This will eliminate the upfront cost and estimates show that the daily subscription cost will be around the average daily fuel spend and this is how the company will recover its costs,” the official said.

Of the 65,000 new autorickshaws permitted in Hyderabad in July 2025, 20,000 are electric-powered variants, 10,000 each are LPG and CNG fueled vehicles and 25,000 vehicles are powered by conventional fuels.