Kejriwal unveils new e-vehicle policy for Delhi; offers financial incentive for buyers

With two key planks of boosting the economy and beating air pollution, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday announced financial incentives for those who purchases e-vehicles for the next three years along with a new Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy.

"The Electric Vehicle policy aims at tackling two main issues in Delhi — boosting the economy and reducing pollution. This is our country's most progressive policy and I believe that in the next five years, whenever people around the world talk about electric vehicles, Delhi's name will be at the top," Kejriwal said in a press conference.

The CM observed that pollution-causing vehicles – those running on petrol/diesel/CNG – are much cheaper than electric vehicles, preventing their mass adoption which is why the state has introduced a few financial incentives to encourage more people to buy them.

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Financial incentives

Under the policy, with the purchase of a two-wheeler, an e-rickshaw or freight vehicles, the Delhi government will give a benefit of up to Rs 30,000. For those who want to purchase electric vehicles for commercial purposes, loans will be given from the Delhi government at very low-interest rates, and registration and road tax fees will be waived. These incentives will be applicable for both battery strapping and fixed charging vehicles, the CM said.

Kejriwal further added that a scrapping incentive would also be given to those who exchanged their old vehicle, by a reduction in the price of the new EV. "All this will be added upon the financial incentives from the Centre's existing electric vehicle program," he said.

The chief minister added that the policy was a product of two years of discussion and consultation from national and global experts. "We spent over two years researching this issue with experts from India and around the world. A few gaps may emerge in this policy in the coming months, but this indicates the direction in which Delhi is headed – towards a cleaner and greener city with fresh air and blue skies. For now, this will be in place only for the next three years," Kejriwal said.

He assured more improvements to the policy will be made when required. A state EV fund is also being created which will cater to the needs of this policy, and the EV board will be chaired by Kailash Gahlot, the Transport & Environment minister of Delhi.

The AAP chief added that they hoped that by 2024, the percentage of newly purchased cars in Delhi would be 25%, as compared to the current 0.2%, and reach a goal of 200 charging stations across the city.

Endorsement arrives

Later in the day, Mahindra Electric CEO, Mahesh Babu endorsed the announcements and congratulated Kejriwal for such a "long term futuristic" EV policy. "Mahindra will work jointly to transform the mobility to sustainable in Delhi," he wrote on Twitter.

The company is one of the leading Indian automakers in the EV market, still at its nascent in India, and has plans to ramp up technology and sales as the Modi government plans to have all motor vehicles on Indian roads electric-run by the end of the decade.

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