The key to unlocking the best potential of electric vehicles in India is perhaps easier than one thinks. We can expect electric vehicles to be the mainstream Indian automotive market once they are adopted at a wide scale by New Delhi. A lot about how the national capital conducts itself in this sphere shall and will hopefully drive the demand for electric vehicles in the country. For after all, the pulse of the nation, one where the most important political and economic decision-making happens will determine this growth trajectory of the key component of electric mobility.
New Delhi has been, without a doubt, on the go towards this direction. Its recent decision to extend the Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy till June 2024 is a glaring example of the same. The Indian capital wants to double down on the surge in EV adoption seen through the years, thanks to the EV Policy. A total of 1.8 lakh electric vehicles have been registered in Delhi, since the inception of the EV policy in August 2020.
Delhi’s Rising EV Sales
Delhi’s rise in EV adoption can be seen in two critical components – the overall electric vehicle sales in the nation’s capital city, and the rise in the number of EV charging stations across the region.
By the conclusion of the first half of 2023, no fewer than 4,893 electric vehicles had already been sold in New Delhi, which is anything but a tiny number. Not a frail sales figure one notes! Why this, unless treated otherwise, is an interesting figure is that the 4,893 units of EVs sold represented a higher sales figure than when compared to previous months (before June). Interestingly, these EV sales accounted for a staggering 10.2% of all vehicles sold in Delhi.
In fact, the capital also saw the induction of most number of electric buses for public use across the nation. Among the registered EVs in Delhi in June, 159 electric buses made up 80% of the total electric bus sales in India for the month of June. A further surge in EV sales in the national capital was explained by rising figures for September. EV sales were no fewer than 9.3 per cent of the overall car sales in the city at the time.
Expanding EV Charging Infrastructure
The other factor that shows how New Delhi is leading the charge of EV adoption in India, is the density of charging infrastructure. A simple glance at the Delhi government stats seems to suggest that good times have arrived for a city that truly wishes to go green and not just in its liking for the resplendent colour.
At this point, there are no less than 1900 charging stations available in the capital across zones like – West, South, Central, Southwest, North, Northeast, and Northwest Delhi. In addition to these public chargers, there are about 230 plus battery swapping stations.
On the whole, one can easily note the presence of Tata, Mahindra, and other premium German electric makes in a segment whose best days lie ahead. Gone are the days and gladly so, when cherubic cities of Delhi were straddled by noisy cars, which carried conventional number plates that had nothing whatsoever to do with the green colour. In all frankness, the “new” about New Delhi today is that there are as many newer cars being launched as they are in the sphere of running green number plates. And while one may still say what is in a name, as stated by Shakespeare, it cannot be that one would decry what is in a number plate. Well, today, there is that catchy green colour and with it, a resolve to spearhead India’s growing EV revolution.
