According to a source, Delhi’s EV customers have been living in hiding for the past six months because the city’s electric car policy has not been updated.
Since Delhi’s EV policy expired in December 2023, owners of electric vehicles have not been eligible for incentives, according to a report by the Times of India.
The scheme, which went into effect on August 7, 2020, provided financial incentives to anyone who bought electric cars. This year, in January, it was supposed to be renewed because it had expired on December 31st.
Electric two-wheelers are eligible for a subsidy of Rs. 5,000 per kWh of battery capacity (up to a maximum of Rs. 30,000) under the EV program. Three-wheelers can also receive a set subsidy of Rs. 30,000 per vehicle at the same time. Since the four-wheeler incentive was only given to the first 1,000 EVs registered in Delhi under the original plan, it is no longer available.
Industry insiders have issued a warning, stating that the prolonged lack of financial support and subsidies will hurt the EV industry in India and impede the uptake of environmentally friendly transportation in urban areas.
The policy would be renewed through June of this year, as the government had announced. It had also consulted stakeholders for remodelling the rule in October 2023, but the process was stalled leading to multiple
The non-renewale is due to bureaucratic process delays, according to Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot. He has also emphasized how critical the issue is to Delhi’s continued leadership in the country’s EV adoption.
The bank that oversees the EV subsidy portal was involved in problems that contributed to the delay in extending the scheme. An official stated that the disparities were from the portal not using the vehicle number as a distinctive identifier. The delay, therefore, was attributed to the bank. However, the official mentioned that the portal has now been corrected.
The delay has also been attributed to the Lok Sabha elections, according to sources in the transport department. The policy extension was agreed by the state cabinet, they said the Times of India, but it had to wait until after the elections. It is anticipated that the policy will be renewed in a week after the proposal was sent once more.
