“Delhites are the backbone of Delhi’s EV policy, and the Government is working on its part for EV adoption,” said Kailash Gahlot, Minister of Transport, Government of Delhi. However, speaking at the fourth Delhi EV forum,he urged the vehicle manufacturers to work on the products to make them more accessible for the public and choose EVs as their primary transportation choice.
Gahlot added that despite 4,000 registrations for e-autorickshaws, only 600 are on the road due to the lower range provided by the current EVs.
Agreeing to this, Jasmine Shah, Vice Chairperson, DDC Delhi, opined that the Government can only work on pilot projects; however, it is the private sector whose support is needed for actual implementation.
Recalling the two years of Delhi’s EV policies, he noted that when the policy was notified in August 2020, the share of EVs in new vehicle registrations was 1.2%. He continued that two years into the policy the EV share has increased to an average of 10% in the year 2022 and has gone as high as 12.5% in March 2022. Notably, With the EV policy, the Delhi Government aims to convert 25% of the new vehicle sales to EVs by 2024.
A press release from DDC noted that over 63,000 EVs had been registered since the policy’s launch, and at least 2,452 charging points 235 swapping stations are operational in Delhi, supporting this steady growth.
It added that the EV charging landscape of Delhi has achieved a 28x growth since the policy’s launch. With this, Delhi has achieved an EV to public charger ratio of 25:1, which is comparable to leading cities like Oslo and Helsinki, Shah added.
Further, as the Delhi Government also released its three-year action plan to create a robust network of charging and battery swapping stations, Ashish Kundra, Principal Secretary-cum-Commissioner (Transport) noted that the State would need close to 18,000 public charging points by 2024.
He added, “An extensive charging network is crucial in achieving our ambitious target of 25% EV penetration in new vehicle sales by 2024.”
Another aspect on which the Delhi Government is working is EV retrofitment. Kundra said that the Government is working on a digital platform wherein the retrofitment kit manufacturers can upload their ARAI and ICAT certificates.
The platform is said to go live within the next week, while another platform for the consumers will go live in the next three months, he stated.
The fourth EV forum also saw the release of a report documenting the opportunities, challenges, solutions, and insights obtained through two years of rigorous, day-to-day policy implementation.
The report, titled 'Accelerating Electric Mobility in Delhi: Journey and Insights from Implementing the Delhi Electric Vehicles Policy,” was released by the Transport Department, DDC Delhi, and RMI India Foundation.
Meanwhile, at the event, leaders of the EV industry were also felicitated with trophies and certificates. Twenty-five pioneers of the EV industry were awarded the Switch Delhi EV Awards 2022 across 13 categories by the Transport Department of GNCTD.