KOLKATA: State Transport minister Firhad Hakim said on Monday that "car manufacturing companies should focus more on the production of electric vehicles" which are environment-friendly and also "affordable" for the masses.
He reiterated that with the rise in fuel prices and air pollution, the shifting to e-vehicles has assumed utmost importance.
Hakim, who is also the Mayor of Kolkata, launched a self-charging strong hybrid electric vehicle manufactured by a leading car manufacturing company and lauded the latter's efforts for being the first among all companies to churn out an SUV for the masses.
"I have asked the manufacturing company to keep the price in a range which will be affordable for the common people," he added.
Talking about the advantage of the vehicle, Hakim said that with the infrastructure of charging stations still not up to the mark in India, this vehicle that can run both on battery and fuel will be advantageous.
"Once the tank is full, this vehicle can run 1000 km," he added.
Rajesh Sinha, Principal Secretary of the Transport department was also present on the occasion.