Companies offer incentives to employees to buy EVs – EQ Mag Pro
Chennai: Buying an electric vehicle can now fetch not just subsidies from your state government but also from your HR department. According to an internal memo of Bank of America, the multinational bank has informed its employees that they will get just under rupees three lakh to buy an EV as part of a new global electric vehicle programme. The subsidy is intended to “help teammates drive positive environmental change in their communities”.
Eligible employees who purchase or lease a new all-electric passenger vehicle on or after July 1, 2022 “may receive 294,500 for a new purchase or 147,250 for a new lease”. Given that the price differential between a petrol and electric PV is around 4-5 lakh, the subsidy covers the differential adequately.
Bank of America’s EV eligibility requirements include criteria like the employee should be on the rolls during the purchase, when submitting the request and have not served a notice of resignation before the amount is paid. The eligible employee should have at least three years of continuous service with the bank and should draw a total cash compensation less than $250,000 or just under rupees two crore.
In addition to the above criteria, the eligible employee’s name must be included on the sales contract. “Teammates are eligible to participate in this program once during their career at the bank and the amount an employee receives will be subject to any applicable taxes and withholdings,” said the memo. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and other electric vehicles, such as bikes and scooters, as well as hybrid vehicles are not eligible under this programme it added.
The Bank of America EV programme comes after Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Group launched a similar initiative to facilitate up to rupees three lakh incentive for its employees to purchase electric vehicles. The JSW initiative covers both four wheelers as well as two wheelers and is intended to increase EV adoption across the group. Others like HSBC are also looking into similar initiatives particularly since HSBC UK has offered lease options for EVs to a section of its employees for a period of four years. With fuel bills increasing exponentially, EV incentives are a new HR carrot, say head hunters.
Source: PTI
