Delhi government has finally passed the electric vehicle policy for the capital, with an aim to induct up to 5 lakh electric vehicles in the region by 2024. With respect to the total vehicles in the area, the policy will aim up to 25 percent of these to be electric by the mentioned period. For this, Delhi government will also be providing subsidies going forward.
The policy targets the reduction of air pollution in the area by doing away with IC engine vehicles and replacing them with electric ones. Announced by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, the EV policy focuses on increasing the use of electric two-wheelers and commercial vehicles in the national capital region.
Under the new EV policy, Delhi government will dole out Rs 5,000 per kWh of battery capacity in purchase incentive. For e-rickshaws and carriers, the incentive goes up to Rs 30,000, in addition to 5 percent loan interest subvention as per the policy.
As for the electric four-wheelers, the purchase incentive goes up to Rs 10,000 per kWh of battery capacity. This incentive, however, will only be available for the first 1,000 electric four-wheelers and will be capped at Rs 1,50,000 per vehicle.
Apart from the subsidies mentioned above, Delhi government has also waived road tax and registration fees for the next three years for all battery electric vehicles through this policy. In addition, there will be a scrapping incentive of up to Rs 5,000 which will also take into account a matching contribution from the manufacturer or dealer.
A few additional benefits for electric vehicle owners in the NCR region have been defined under the policy. For instance, as per the policy, a mandate of reserving around 20 percent of residential or commercial parking lots for EVs has been passed.
Delhi government has also focused on increasing the charging network in the region with the policy. A strong support for this can be seen from the fact that the government will be providing 100 percent subsidy on charging equipment costing up to Rs 6,000 per unit. The subsidy, however, will be limited to the first 30,000 charging points either at a home or a workplace. The target for public charging and battery swapping stations is 250 across the NCR region for now.
The government will be bringing in EVs for its own use as well. As per the policy, it will be mandating the use of electric vehicles for the Delhi government officials within the next 12 months.
As can be seen, the policy engulfs a plethora of points to be worked upon in order to help Delhi adapt electric vehicles for its transportation. In order to ensure a proper implementation, the Delhi government will be forming an EV board as well as an EV cell within its transport department.
For now, the idea is to induct a total of 35,000 electric vehicles in the form of electric four, three and two wheelers and 1000 EVs specifically for last mile deliveries. In fact the government has already directed the last mile delivery players to switch at least 50 percent of their fleet to electric by March 2023. A complete electrification for these players is thereon expected by March 2025.