The Delhi government has decided to extend its electric vehicle policy by three months, which was scheduled to end on December 31. With this move, the Delhi EV policy is now intended to be extended till March 31, 2024. PTI has given this information. This move will provide a much-awaited relief to consumers looking to buy electric vehicles in Delhi-NCR as well as other stakeholders in the EV industry.
The report claims that the Delhi government cabinet will approve the extension of the Delhi EV policy till March 31, 2024. This policy was notified in August 2020. It was announced with a target of increasing the share of electric vehicles in the national capital to 25 percent by 2024.
The Delhi EV policy was originally set to expire on August 8, 2023, and has been extended repeatedly since then. Currently, the Delhi government is reportedly working on a new electric vehicle policy. But it has not been decided yet when it will be implemented. It seems, the Delhi government is aiming to extend the existing EV policy until the new policy is implemented.
Earlier, Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gehlot had said that Delhi EV Policy 2.0 will encourage retrofitting of vehicles considering the cost. This will enable EV buyers to convert their existing petrol or diesel-powered vehicles into electric vehicles. This will allow them to adopt electric vehicles at a much lower cost than purchasing a brand new EV.
The minister said converting a normal petrol Maruti Suzuki Gypsy into an EV costs around Rs 5 lakh to Rs 6 lakh, which is high. Gehlot indicated that with the help of Delhi EV Policy 2.0, this cost for consumers will be greatly reduced.