How India’s EV Revolution is Getting Supercharged in Delhi
It’s a familiar scene which is played out year over year in Delhi. Come Diwali, air pollution levels soar. Visibility drops. Residents face difficulty breathing. And news organisations around the world produce clickbait, highlighting how New Delhi is once again, the world’s most polluted capital. For the last few years, we’ve also seen various attempts to crack down on the problem via various initiatives from the infamous odd-even scheme to banning firecrackers in Delhi and banning the burning of crop stubbles in neighbouring regions. Yet, the same story plays out each and every year.
In a move that hopes to finally make a dent in the problem, the Delhi government announced a slew of measures with the goal of having 25% of the vehicles on Delhi’s streets being electrically powered by 2024. The government hopes to achieve this target by focusing on public transport vehicles, two wheelers, and ride-share vehicles. In a year, the government hopes to add 35,000 new electric vehicles and has set the goal at 500,000 by 2024. In order to do this, the government will enable a more EV-friendly ecosystem. New residential and commercial premises will have to reserve 20% of their parking spots for electric vehicles along with the accompanying charging infrastructure. The first 30,000 charging points in the city will receive a subsidy of up to ₹ 6,000 per point. Further, two-wheel vehicle buyers will also get an incentive of ₹ 5,000 per kWh of battery capacity. Fossil-fuel-burning vehicles currently account for over 99% of auto sales. The hope is that these measures will collectively make Delhi a city where the electric vehicle ecosystem can thrive at the expense of their more traditional and less sustainable fossil-fuel-powered ancestors.
Why This Might Actually Work
Electric vehicles have gotten off to a slow start in India, with a poor charging infrastructure and car manufacturers wanting to wait and watch, before committing capital and resources to these projects. However, there finally seems to be some momentum gathering on this front. As cities have upgraded their local bus systems, new electric buses have been purchased in bulk. Chinese automaker, BYD, for instance, has over 200 buses on Indian roads with a goal of delivering over 10,000 in the next two to three years. These buses will be operational across Bengaluru, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Goa, Mumbai, and other cities.
New startups have also seen an opportunity in electric vehicle space in the country. eBikeGo, for instance, offers electric bike rentals for as low as ₹ 4/km. Another startup, Revolt, offers electric bikes subscriptions as a service, with subscriptions starting at ₹ 3,000 per month, including maintenance. Further, automakers, Hyundai, Tata Motors, Mahindra, and MG Motors, have launched modern electric vehicles with long ranges. These can be charged from any 15V socket and fast charged at their respective dealerships and expanding charging networks. Still, there’s a long way to go for electric cars to go mainstream.
The new measures by the Delhi government will incentivise these players to zero in on Delhi and ensure that the electric vehicle ecosystem there becomes robust. That robust ecosystem should hopefully spur demand, helping it grow even further. That’s the power of the network effect.
If these moves are successful, you can expect other cities to follow suit, ensuring that the electric vehicle race in India is supercharged, ultimately resulting in more competition and lower prices for consumers. That, along with the cleaner air we will ultimately breathe, could lead to the gradual demise of the internal combustion engine and usher in a new era of a cleaner and greener environment.
