Telangana Meets Retrofit Firms to Convert Petrol, Diesel Autos to Electric Vehicles
Representatives of retrofitment companies shared their views on the feasibility of converting existing autorickshaws into electric vehicles and said the initiative could help reduce air pollution, lower operating costs for drivers and improve urban air quality.
Hyderabad: Ahead of the National Mobility Summit scheduled in Hyderabad on Tuesday, the Telangana transport department on Monday held consultations with electric retrofitment companies as part of efforts to frame a policy for converting petrol and diesel autorickshaws into electric vehicles.
The initiative is part of the state government’s push to promote an environment-friendly, accessible and sustainable urban transport system and to move towards the goal of net-zero emissions.
The summit, themed “Accelerating the Future of Mobility”, will bring together policymakers, transport officials, industry representatives, startups and technology providers to discuss the future of sustainable and integrated mobility in the country.
Officials said the government is also expected to outline plans to transform the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGRTC) fleet into electric vehicles in a phased manner.
Transport minister Ponnam Prabhakar will attend the inaugural session of the summit. The government is currently consulting retrofitment companies on proposals to convert petrol and diesel autorickshaws into electric vehicles as part of its clean mobility strategy.
The transport department, in partnership with Elets Technomedia and with Hyderabad Metro Rail as co-partner, will organise the 2nd National Mobility Summit-2026 at the Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre.
Officials said meetings with companies engaged in electric retrofitment of three-wheelers were held in two phases on Monday. The first meeting was chaired by transport commissioner Dr K. Ilambarithi, IAS, while the second was chaired by Special Chief Secretary, transport, roads and buildings department, Vikas Raj, IAS.
During the meetings, discussions were held on the proposed policy to convert existing petrol and diesel autorickshaws operating in the Telangana Core Urban Region into electric vehicles using retrofitment kits. The discussions covered technical standards, safety regulations, certification procedures, cost structure, battery technologies, including swappable and fixed battery systems, and implementation modalities.
Representatives of retrofitment companies shared their views on the feasibility of converting existing autorickshaws into electric vehicles and said the initiative could help reduce air pollution, lower operating costs for drivers and improve urban air quality.
Officials said the government is examining the possibility of providing financial assistance for the conversion of petrol and diesel auto-rickshaws into electric vehicles under the proposed programme.
The suggestions received from the companies will be examined and feasible proposals will be considered while finalising the policy, officials added.