Fuelled by state policy, sales of EVs in Delhi gather steam
According to the Delhi transport department, sales of EVs increased by about 136% over January 2021 to 3,404, with sales of two-wheelers, for the first time, surpassing those of e-rickshaws.
In January, electric vehicles were the fastest growing segment in Delhi, albeit on a very low base, and that within this, electric two-wheelers accounted for more than half — an indication of the growing popularity of EVs given the high fuel prices, as well as generous sops in the Delhi Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy, notified in August 2020.
According to the Delhi transport department, sales of EVs increased by about 136% over January 2021 to 3,404, with sales of two-wheelers, for the first time, surpassing those of e-rickshaws. The absolute numbers are still low; sales of petrol vehicles declined by about 20% to 31,714 ; sales of CNG vehicles increased by 30% to 2,751; and those of diesel vehicles by 9% to 1,166.
The sharp rise (753%) in sale of electric two-wheelers is significant. Of the 13.4 million registered vehicles in the national capital, 7.4 million are two-wheelers , and a major contributor to vehicular emissions in the city.
On December 28, 2020, five months after the Delhi EV policy was implemented, HT highlighted how e-rickshaws continued to top EV sales. The trend continued through the year .
The sale of private electric cars increased by 36% to 146 last month; and sales of EV taxis have risen by 272% to 134.
“Our Delhi EV policy has finally started to show desired results. The main target segment for transitioning to EVs has been the two-wheeler and three-wheeler categories and I am delighted to say that Delhi has finally hit the point where electric two-wheeler sales are picking up. The electric motorcycle/scooter segment showed a boom in sales contributing to 52% of the overall EV sales in Delhi. This transition will have a huge impact on the city’s air quality. Overall, EV sales contributed to 8.1% of overall vehicle sales in January in Delhi,” said transport minister Kailash Gahlot.
Experts lauded the Delhi government’s push for electric vehicles. “The growth reflects the success of Delhi’s EV policy. Earlier, the subsidy on EVs was the mainstay for promotion of such vehicles. However , Delhi came out with growth-oriented incentives in all spheres of EVs i.e. subsidy on purchase of EVs, charging infrastructure promotion, conversion of diesel and petrol vehicle to EV, fee and tax exemptions etc to name a few. No other state/UT has had such a holistic approach to the growth of EVs so far,” said KK Dahiya, transport expert and former special commissioner (transport).
The Delhi government notified its EV Policy on August 7, 2020. Under the policy, the Delhi government has set a target of EVs accounting for 25% of vehicles sold by 2024. As part of the policy, Delhi also became the first state in the country to fully exempt EVs from road tax and registration fee.
To address the issue of air pollution, the Delhi government also proposes to notify a separate cab aggregator policy that will mandate that all vehicles that are introduced into the fleet of such companies after the notification can’t be over five-years-old; the existing fleet can’t have vehicles over eight-years-old.
Within the first six months from the date of notification of the aggregator policy, 10% of all newly inducted two-wheelers and 5% of all new four-wheelers will have to be electric vehicles. Two years from the notification, 50% of all new two-wheelers and 25% of all new four-wheelers will have to be EVs, the policy has proposed.
