NEW DELHI: Continuing its efforts to check air pollution, the Delhi government on Thursday announced to provide a subsidy of Rs 5,500 each for the first 10,000 buyers of e-cycles under the ambitious Electric Vehicle (EV) policy.
“An additional incentive of Rs 2,000 to the first 1,000 individual e-cycles owners will be provided with an eye on to create the much-needed demand for e-cycles,” transport minister Kailash Gahlot said at a press briefing. ‘’Similarly, we will provide a purchase incentive of 33% of MRP up to Rs 15,000 per vehicle to the first 5,000 e-cargo cycles buyers to support the food delivery and e-commerce drivers in the city.’’
Delhi is the first state in the country to incentivise e-bicycles, transport minister Kailash Gahlot said, adding that the assistance will be given one vehicle per individual who should be a Delhi resident with a valid Aadhar card.
Passenger and cargo e-cycle having a speed of less than 25 km/hour will be covered under the plan. While such two-wheelers do not come cheap, the cost of an e-cycle with decent specifications can start anywhere around Rs 25,000-Rs 30,000.
All the purchasers of e-cycles and cargo e-cycles will also be eligible for an incentive of up to Rs 3,000 per vehicle for scrapping and deregistering such two-wheelers registered in Delhi, Gahlot said. Flanked by AAP think-tank Delhi Dialogue and Development Commission vice-chairperson Jasmine Shah, Gahlot informed that nearly 46,000 e-vehicles have been sold till date under the Delhi EV policy. The city also achieved the highest EV sale contribution of 12.6% of the total sale of vehicles in March.
When the EV Policy was launched in 2020, Gahlot said, the initial target was that EVs would comprise 25 per cent of the vehicle registration by 2024. ‘’About two and a half years ago, this percentage was nearly 1% or 2% only which has now reached 12.6% in March.’’
Shah, meanwhile, said the focus was to bring more people in to the niche section of e-cycle users. “We are bringing it (e-cycle) to the mainstream, especially for the people associated with the delivery segment. This will have a huge advantage in their employment opportunities. The class associated with food delivery will no longer have to buy expensive two-wheelers,” he said.
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