Delhi Govt Launches Draft EV Policy, Aims To Have 25% EVs By 2023

With many parts of Delhi registering severe levels of air pollution, the state government has announced ‘The Draft Delhi EV Policy 2018’, to speed up the adoption of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs). The policy aims to make 25% of all vehicles to be EVs by 2023.

“This policy will also seek to put in place measures to support the creation of jobs in driving, selling, financing, servicing and charging of EVs,” the draft said.

To be notified by the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD), the draft policy will remain valid for five years (2018-2023) from the date of notification.

The draft policy “will apply exclusively to Battery Electric Vehicles (as defined in Annexure -1, FAME India). Mild Hybrid, Strong Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles will not be targeted by this policy.”

Main Objective & Key Incentives

Currently, two-wheelers account for two-thirds of new vehicle registrations in Delhi, with the most popular segments being motorcycles between 110-125cc and scooters between 90-125cc. Along with this, a large number of commuters use public transport.

Thus, the draft policy will focus on incentivising the purchase and use of electric two-wheelers and supporting the electrification of public/shared transport.

For instance, owners of two-wheelers which are not BS [IV] certified will get an incentive of up to $212 (INR 15,000) for scrapping and deregistering their vehicles. Further, the buyers can avail an incentive of INR 11,000-22,000 per vehicle for specific vehicle categories (i.e., High power with Advance Battery).

The policy further encourages the usage of electric rickshaws, three wheeler goods carriers, app-based e-autos and e-cabs. For all for short first and last mile connectivity trips on e-cab/e-auto rides taken through an app-based aggregator, GNCTD plans to offer ‘cash back’ rebates. These rebates will be capped at a maximum of 20% of the trip cost and an absolute value of ₹10 per ride.

“The objective of the rebate will be to make an e-cab/e-auto ride at least 10-20% cheaper than an equivalent ride in an ICE cab/auto,” the report said.

Delhi government has also committed to induce at least 1,000 pure electric buses by 2019. This will help achieve a target of making 50% of the public transport bus fleet zero emission by 2023.

State EV Fund

According to the report, a ‘State EV Fund’ will be set up to fund a large part of the incentives proposed in this policy. GNCTD will be using the ‘feebate’ concept of adopting measures by which inefficient or polluting vehicles incur a surcharge (fee) while efficient ones receive a rebate (bate). This includes elements such as:

Pollution Cess: All petrol and diesel-powered vehicle users will pay a ‘Pollution Cess’ on the sale of fuel beginning with April 2019.

Parking surcharge: An air quality parking surcharge will be levied on Base Parking Fees -BPF (as defined under the draft Delhi Maintenance and Management of Parking Rules, 2017) and will be applicable to petrol and diesel burning vehicles only.

Road tax: Additional road taxes will be levied on diesel and petrol vehicles, especially luxury
cars.

Congestion fee: A congestion fee up to 2.5% on fare will be levied on all trips originating or terminating within Delhi and will be charged through cab aggregators and ride-hailing services. This fee will be waived for rides taken in an e-two wheeler, e-auto or e-cab.

Charging Infrastructure: Key Driver Of EV Adoption

The policy also takes into account charging infrastructure as a key driver of EV adoption and will work towards enabling both private and public EV charging points. The policy paves way for 100% subsidy on installation of charging point up to INR 30,000 per charging point for the first 10,000 points at residential or non-residential buildings.

For the bidding and operational convenience, the city will be divided into 11 ‘travel districts’ mapping onto existing revenue districts. Bids for ‘Energy Operators’ (EOs) will be invited to set up charging stations in each of the travel districts. The purpose is to install public charging facilities at every three kilometres.

“Successful bidders will be given the exclusive right to operate public charging stations within the assigned travel district for a period of 10 years subject to meeting the conditions laid out in the bid documents,” the report added.

GNCTD will also invite bids from battery manufacturers and others interested in setting up a battery swapping business. Bids will be invited for up to three ‘Battery Swapping Operators’ (BSOs) who can operate across Delhi. The selected BSOs will have the right to set up and operate battery swapping kiosks/points within public parking zones bus depots and terminals, metro stations, and other GNCTD identified locations.

An open, publicly owned database will be developed by Transport Department, offering users up-to-date and real-time information on public charging infrastructure (location, number, and type of swapping kiosks/chargers, queue lengths/availability and pricing).

The Draft Delhi EV Policy is currently under a 30-day consideration period from the date of issue (November 27, 2018) and has invited suggestions from the concerned departments and the public.