First week of Delhi govt’s campaign to promote electric two-wheelers begins
According to a statement, the first week will focus on outreach regarding the two-wheeler segment, including electric bikes and e-scooters, to accelerate its adoption.
New Delhi: Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot on Sunday kickstarted the first week of the city government’s Switch Delhi campaign with the aim of sensitising people to the benefits of electric two-wheelers and encouraging them to adopt the environment-friendly vehicles.
According to a statement, the first week will focus on outreach regarding the two-wheeler segment, including electric bikes and e-scooters, to accelerate its adoption.
A study by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) showed that vehicle pollution causes 28 per cent of PM2.5 emissions in Delhi and two-wheelers constitute seven per cent of this pollution, the statement said.
Considering Delhi’s context, the policy lays special focus on the two-wheeler segment. Two-thirds of the vehicles in Delhi are two-wheelers and hence, this segment needs to be the one pushing for early adoption for the success of the Switch Delhi campaign, according to the statement.
“Delhi’s EV Policy especially focuses on incentivising the purchase of two-wheelers, which comprise two-third of all vehicles in Delhi and cause maximum pollution”, said Gahlot.
The policy offers various financial and non-financial incentives on the purchase of two-wheelers.
A purchase incentive of Rs 5,000 per kWh of battery capacity shall be provided per vehicle to the registered owner and subject to a maximum of Rs 30,000 per vehicle. Vehicles that are eligible for purchase incentives shall also receive a scrapping incentive of up to Rs 5,000 for scrapping and de-registering old ICE two-wheelers registered in Delhi, the statement stated.
Road tax and registration fees will also be waived for all electric two-wheelers during the period of the policy, it said.
“The total cost of ownership of an electric two-wheeler over a period of 10 years is approximately 50 per cent of that of a petrol scooter in Delhi and approximately 54 per cent of that of a petrol bike in Delhi, as per analysis by RMI India.
“Electric two-wheelers are up to Rs 2.05 cheaper to drive per kilometer as compared to petrol scooters and up to Rs 1.82 cheaper as compared to petrol bikes. Electric two wheelers would achieve cost parity with the petrol scooters and bike in a maximum of six months,” the Delhi Transport minister said.
By switching to electric two-wheeler, an individual can have monthly savings of approximately Rs 1,850 and Rs 1,650 compared to petrol scooter and bike respectively, or an annual saving of around Rs 22,000, the statement said.
Under Delhi’s EV policy, 23 two-wheeler models are available and eligible for purchase and scrapping incentives across seven manufacturers, it said.
Switch Delhi is an eight-week mass awareness campaign by the city government to sensitize each and every Delhiite about the benefits of switching to EVs to the environment as well as to make them aware of the incentives and infrastructure being developed under Delhi’s EV policy.
Source: pti
