delhi: Nearly Rs 100 crore incentive offered on EVs to boost sales, says Delhi govt
The policy's mission is to drive rapid adoption of EVs to ensure they contribute 25 percent of all new vehicle registrations by 2024, the Arvind Kejriwal government said in a statement, asserting that the capital is already at the halfway mark, with EV sales up to March this year recording 12.5 percent.
Apart from providing incentives, the government has also waived road tax and registration fees for all EVs.
The Delhi EV Policy's success can be attributed to the i3 model's incentivisation, innovation, and inclusion, the government said in the statement.
It said the Charge Point Operators (CPO) deployed more than 2,000 charging points and battery swapping stations, solving the issue of range anxiety for all EV users.
In February last year, Kejriwal also launched the Switch Delhi Campaign to spread awareness about the contribution of EVs to making Delhi cleaner and minimising pollution.
Prior to the implementation of the policy, the EV market in the capital was driven by e-rickshaws, which contributed nearly 85 percent of total EV sales here.
As two-thirds of new vehicle registrations in Delhi comprise two-wheelers, the policy's focus was to push sales of electric two-wheelers and commercial three-wheelers, it said.
In order to provide access to charging points, the government in February last year signed a pact with Delhi Transco Limited for 100 sites across Delhi. This initiative will see the introduction of nearly 900 charging points and 100-plus battery swapping stations.
Owners would be able to charge their EVs at less than Rs 2 per unit at these facilities, the lowest in the country, it claimed.
The government also started a single window facility in November last year to ease the purchase of EV chargers from power distribution companies' online portal through more than 10 empanelled vendors and gave a three-year warranty, including installation.
An online portal was also created for the purchase of electric automobiles and availing of a five per cent interest subvention.
The government claimed a total of 150 electric buses are already plying on Delhi roads and the capital will see nearly 2,000 such buses by the end of 2023, which will be the highest in the country.
Three bus depots have already been electrified, 17 more will be electrified by June next year and 35 by December next year, taking the number of electrified bus depots to 55.
"On one hand, electric vehicles are helping Delhi with the reduction of emissions and air pollution, and on the other hand, they are also creating more employment opportunities, increasing the earnings of commercial vehicles and auto-owners with a lower cost of ownership and giving users an opportunity to take rides in quiet and comfortable vehicles," Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said.
He also said that with the onset of EVs, he was also looking forward to seeing more female drivers in both private and public vehicles.
( Details and picture courtesy from Source, the content is auto-generated from RSS feed.)
Join our official telegram channel for free latest updates and follow us on Google News here.
