ICCT Suggests Placing Premium on Battery Electric Trucks in Delhi EV Policy 2.0

ICCT Suggests Placing Premium on Battery Electric Trucks in Delhi EV Policy 2.0

The current Electric Vehicle Policy of Delhi phases out this August. The policy, without a doubt, has played a key role in giving an impetus to e-mobility in Delhi.

The International Council On Clean Transportation has come up with recommendations for the city’s Electric Vehicle Policy 2.0. The report stresses on providing incentives for medium and heavy-duty truck electrification. Towards this, it suggests improving the cost competitiveness of battery electric trucks (BETs), through the provision of “purchase incentives between INR 10,000 and 15,000 per kWh of battery size, capped at 40% of ex-showroom cost.” Further, to make BETs seem more lucrative over internal combustion engine trucks, ICCT says that there should be an extension of 5% interest subvention on loans for L5N and N1 vehicles to cover the purchase of BETs. This, in turn, would help make the total cost of ownership of BETs attractive, increasing their uptake.

At present, electric trucks in the N2 and N3 categories are substantially more expensive to purchase than ICET counterparts fueled by diesel or compressed natural gas (CNG). “We estimate that the upfront cost of a 16-tonne BET with a 295 kWh battery sized for a 250 km range is about 3.5 to 4.5 times higher than a diesel or CNG truck,
depending on the different battery chemistries,” reads the report.

The current Delhi EV Policy provides a purchase incentive of INR 10,000 per kWh of battery capacity, capped at INR 1.5 lakh per vehicle, for electric cars and light commercial vehicles.

The report goes on to state, “It is important to support national-level incentives for the BET market, and to do this, the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi could submit a representation to the Ministry of Heavy Industries recommending that purchase subsidies for BETs be offered in the next phase of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme.” It adds, “Until then, a self-sustaining fund for incentivizing BETs within Delhi could be maintained by leveraging the existing fund from the Environmental Compensation Charge; if this is insufficient, levying a small additional fee of INR 25–50 on diesel and CNG trucks entering Delhi could be explored.”

The current Delhi EV Policy provides a 5% subvention on loans to purchase electric goods carriers in the region. The cost of financing in Indian trucks is high and “a similar provision for electric trucks would reduce the TCO of a BET by 10%,” notes the ICCT proposal.

The clean transportation body suggests incentivizing the deployment of DC high-power charging, which will accelerate the uptake of BETs across different applications. The upstream infrastructure assets of electric utilities should be augmented by the utilities where required. The study proposes extending concessional land rates to public high-power charging stations.

The report can be accessed here.