Electric vehicle registrations surge past CNG, diesel — account for 9% of sales b/w Sep & Nov

New Delhi: Electric vehicles accounted for nine per cent of the total vehicle sales in the Capital in the three months between September and November, six times higher than the national average, the Delhi government said on Tuesday, adding that the city is fast emerging as the EV Capital of India.

The national capital is doing everything possible to reduce its contribution to pollution, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said. "I'm glad Delhi is emerging as the EV capital of India with a 9 per cent share of EVs. Delhi is doing everything possible to reduce its contribution to pollution," he tweeted.

Significantly, the data from these months showed that the sale of electric vehicles surpassed CNG and diesel vehicles in Delhi in the last quarter. The sale of CNG vehicles has fallen to seven per cent as EV sales rise, officials said.

Delhi's progressive electric vehicle policy has turned out to be a huge success, and sale of electric vehicles is rising fast, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said.

Electric vehicles accounted for nine per cent of the vehicles sold in the city, while the national average stands at 1.6 per cent, a statement from the government said.

A total of 9,540 electric vehicles were sold in Delhi during September-November quarter. Of this, September saw the sale of 2,873 EVs, while 3,275 EVs were sold in October and 3,392 in November.

Electric vehicles have risen to the second position in sales figures after petrol vehicles, which took first place at 82,626. At the same time, electric vehicles surpassed popular choices like diesel and CNG by a significant margin. A total of 7,820 CNG vehicles and 2,688 vehicles were sold in the quarter. In the hybrid category, 3,918 petrol+CNG vehicles were sold, while 1,429 petrol+other hybrid variants were sold, the government disclosed.

The Delhi government's EV policy has set an ambitious target of ensuring that they account for 25 per cent of all vehicle registrations here by 2024. Under the policy, the transport department exempted new electric vehicle owners from paying road tax and registration fees.

As for the infrastructure for the rising number of electric vehicles, officials said that in collaboration with power discoms, 201 charging stations with over 380 charging points had been set up across the city in the past two years - claiming it was the highest for any city nationally.

Another 600 public charging points are to be added by mid-2022, the government added.

Among other benefits, the policy offers a subsidy of Rs 10,000 per kWh of battery capacity, maximum of up to Rs 1.5 lakh, for the first 1,000 four-wheeled electric vehicles sold. For other electric vehicles, including two-wheelers, the subsidy amount is Rs 5,000 per kWh of battery capacity, with a maximum of up to Rs 30,000 per vehicle.