The price of electric and strong hybrid cars could fall significantly in Delhi under the government’s new electric vehicle (EV) policy. Delhi’s EV Policy 2.0 is likely to be announced in the Budget session of the Assembly that is scheduled to begin next week.
The exemption from road tax and registration fees that is offered to e-rickshaws and electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers in the existing policy could be extended to electric cars and strong hybrids in EV Policy 2.0, government officials said.
The benefits, intended to reduce the vehicular pollution load by cutting tailpipe emissions, will be offered to strong hybrid EVs (HEVs) and plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEVs) with an ex-showroom price of up to Rs 20 lakh, the officials said.
In an interview given to The Indian Express earlier this month, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta had said: “We will announce the EV policy in the coming Budget session. We are talking to all stakeholders; it will be a policy that will change the transportation of Delhi and will motivate the private sector.”
Once the new EV policy is cleared by the Cabinet, it will be implemented in the coming financial year 2026-27.
“Under EV 2.0, the government aims to push people to switch to electric cars from conventional petrol and diesel cars. Most electric cars these days start above Rs 15 lakh. Under the new policy, there is a proposal to extend this plan to strong hybrid electric vehicles as well as plug-in hybrid EVs. However, a final decision is yet to be taken on this matter,” a senior government official said.
“Once the policy is approved, terms and conditions such as how many vehicles the subsidy will be applicable to, and whether it will be for one year or two years, will be decided,” the official added.
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Transport expert Anil Chikkara said instead of offering incentives and subsidies to high-income-group individuals, the government should consider incentivising charging stations and improving public transport, so that more people switch to public mobility. “This will lead to decongestion and ease traffic jams, thereby curbing vehicular pollution,” he said.
The government is also considering providing an incentive of Rs 12,000 per kWh, up to Rs 36,000, on e-two-wheelers for 10,000 women residents of Delhi having valid driving licences.
Another proposal is to exempt electric LN and N1 goods vehicles from no-entry timing restrictions and idle parking on identified roads, officials said. N1 vehicles are light goods vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of up to 3.5 tonnes, while LN vehicles are three-wheeled goods carriers.
Also, certain parts of Delhi may be identified as Special Mobility Zones, in which only electric vehicles would be allowed.
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“These zones will be located near tourist destinations, hospitals, heritage sites, and other attractions, and will be designed to reduce air and noise pollution,” an official said.
The current EV policy, which has already seen multiple extensions, will expire this month. It was introduced in August 2020 and, following its expiration in 2023, extended for six months. The BJP government that came to power in the beginning of last year, too extended the policy.
The Transport Department had initially suggested a ban on new registrations of CNG autorickshaws in Delhi from August 15 last year, and restricting renewals of permits to only e-autos. It was also proposed that CNG autos older than 10 years would have to be replaced or retrofitted, and that no new registrations of petrol, CNG or diesel two-wheelers and three-wheelers would be allowed.
The new EV policy is likely to increase the incentive for battery swaps too. “We are talking to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) because giving subsidies on vehicles is not sufficient; you also need better EV infrastructure for battery charging and swapping stations. Also, what will happen to the batteries that will be replaced is also being discussed,” Gupta had told The Indian Express.
