Delhi: Second leg of electric vehicle drive to focus on three wheelers
NEW DELHI: Transport minister Kailash Gahlot on Sunday launched the next leg of the Kejriwal government’s Switch Delhi campaign, which focuses on sensitising, informing, and encouraging Delhiites to adopt electric three-wheelers in the city.
“Two and three-wheelers contribute to two-thirds of pollution in Delhi. Three wheelers run for 12-16 hours a day. The focus of Delhi EV policy on this segment will greatly benefit the air quality,” said Gahlot.
Switch Delhi is an eight-week mass awareness drive to sensitise Delhiites about the benefits of switching to electric vehicles on the environment and about the incentives and infrastructure being developed under Delhi’s EV policy.
“E-autos can complement e-rickshaws in providing zero pollution last-mile connectivity in Delhi. The government will soon bring out a scheme to facilitate easy registration of e-autos in the city,” he added.
While e-rickshaws have a top speed of not more than 25 kmph, e-autos are comparable to CNG autos, and have a top speed of 50-60 kmph.
Delhi government provides a subsidy of Rs 30,000 on e-rickshaws, but now, under the EV policy launched last year, the same has been extended to e-carts/loaders and e-autos. Purchase incentives of up to Rs 30,000 per vehicle will be provided, and scrapping incentives of up to Rs 7,500 available for scrapping and de-registering old CNG autorickshaws registered in Delhi. Road tax and registration fees will also be waived for all electric three-wheelers.
“The subsidies provided by the government under the policy on electric three-wheeler autos will reduce the total cost of ownership by up to 26%. By switching to electric three-wheeler auto, an individual buyer can save approximately Rs 29,000 annually,” he said, adding that subsidies provided on electric three-wheeler e-rickshaw reduce the total cost of ownership by up to 33%. Under the policy, 177 three-wheeler models are available and eligible for purchase and scrapping incentives across 68 manufacturers.
Source: timesofindia
