Delhi EV Campaign Receives Immense Response, EVs Completes 2 Cr Km Run

Freshly launched ‘Switch Delhi’ Campaign, by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has been receiving an immensely encouraging response by the state. The campaign started to promote electric vehicles (EVs) has been received “exceedingly well” and many two-wheeler companies have decided to “aggressively” launch new EV models in Delhi, an official statement said on Saturday.

Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot informed, that since the launch of the Delhi EV policy in August last year, 630 new electric two-wheelers have been registered and more are being registered every day.

The Minister explained, “By switching to an electric two-wheeler, an individual can have monthly savings of around Rs 1,850 and Rs 1,650 compared to petrol scooter and petrol bike respectively, or an annual saving of approximately Rs 22,000 as compared to using petrol scooter and Rs 20,000 as compared to a petrol bike.”

An official statement states that encouraged by the campaign, many EV two-wheeler companies like Ather, Bajaj, and TVS have decided to launch new vehicle models in Delhi, said a Transport department.

According to a statement, “The campaign should revive consumer interest in electric vehicles in the city. We will open our experience center in Delhi soon,” said Tarun Mehta, co-founder of Ather.

Additionally, the Managing Director of Bajaj Auto, Rajiv Bajaj stated, “The comprehensive, pragmatic and progressive EV policy of the Delhi government inspired us at Bajaj Auto to accelerate our plan to scale up our iconic electric scooter Chetak as also to introduce electric avatars of our market-leading 3-wheelers.”

Not only this but, another official statement stated, EVs deployed in the national capital on Saturday completed two crore kilometers on the road till now. The Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) owned subsidiary, Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL) said this has resulted in a reduction of 500 kg of particulate matter emissions, contributing significantly to cleaner air and health benefits for the public.

About 3,573 tonnes of carbon emission has been avoided since the deployment of EVs and Rs 8.6 crore have been saved in terms of monetary value, the statement declared.

The Managing Director and CEO of CESL, Mahua Acharya stated, “This is an important step towards India building out an ecosystem for electric mobility.”

“CESL is bringing together initiatives to invest in clean energy and clean transportation. With our planned investments in 20,000 electric vehicles, India is expected to save over 6.4 crore liters of fuel every year — leading to a reduction of over 5.6 lakh tonnes of annual CO2 emissions,” she continued in that statement.

In addition to this, Delhi Transport Department will soon start facilitating the registration of e-autos that can save up to Rs 29,000 as compared to their CNG equivalents, Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said on Sunday.

According to a PTI statement, “The Delhi government has led the way in promoting e-rickshaws for the last few years by giving a subsidy of Rs 30,000. After the EV policy, the same subsidy has been extended to e-carts and e-autos. Scrapping incentives of up to Rs 7,500 are also available on it,” Gahlot stated.

The Switch Delhi campaign is an eight-week electric vehicle mass awareness campaign to sensitize Delhiites about the benefits of switching to electric vehicles.

The second week of the campaign focuses on the outreach for electric three-wheelers and aims to sensitize, inform, and encourage Delhiites to adopt electric three-wheelers in the national capital, said a Delhi government statement.

Interestingly, Gahlot explained,  “E-autos can complement e-rickshaws in providing zero pollution last mile connectivity in Delhi. The Delhi government will soon bring out a scheme to facilitate easy registration of e-autos in Delhi.”

“Subsidies provided by the Delhi government under the EV policy, on electric autos reduce their total cost by up to 26 percent. By switching to e-auto, an individual can save about Rs 29,000 annually,” the minister added.