Delhi govt stops offering subsidies on electric cars, will continue to offer for two-wheelers

• The Delhi government has stopped offering subsidies on electric cars.
• Electric two-wheelers, freight vehicles and public transport will continue to receive subsidies.
• The subsidy was available only for the first 1,000 electric cars.

In a move that will disappoint potential electric car buyers in the national capital, the Delhi government has reportedly stopped offering subsidies on electric cars.

As per a Hindustan Times report, the Delhi government has stopped offering subsidies on electric cars as it feels the electric cars segment has achieved the required push in Delhi.

“The electric cars segment has received the required push in Delhi. Our focus now is to tap the two-wheeler, freight and public transport segments of electric vehicles (EVs) as they constitute a major chunk of Delhi’s over 10 million registered vehicles. They also ply on the road more as compared to private cars, thereby causing more pollution,” Delhi’s transport minister Kailash Gahlot said to Hindustan Times.

As per this, electric two-wheelers, freight vehicles and public transport vehicles will continue to receive subsidies in Delhi.

The Delhi government had announced the subsidy for electric cars only to the first 1,000 buyers and has decided to not extend this for more buyers.

The subsidy offered was ₹10,000 per kilowatt hour (kWh) of battery capacity and this was capped at ₹1,50,000 per vehicle. In addition to this, the government had also waived the road tax and registration fee for these vehicles.

According to reports, over 7.3 million of the 10 million registered vehicles in Delhi are two-wheelers.

Customers looking to buy electric two-wheelers will continue to receive a subsidy of ₹5,000 per kWh of battery capacity, with a cap of ₹30,000 per vehicle.

The minister further added that subsidies are not required for cars as those customers can shell out more money.

“Actually, a subsidy is not required for electric cars as such because those who can afford to pay around ₹15 lakh for a vehicle do not care if the cost is ₹1-2 lakh more, sans the subsidy. Our aim is to provide the subsidy to those who need it the most, and they include auto drivers, two-wheeler owners, delivery partners and so on,” said Gahlot.

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