Battery operated bicycles and trikes to be included in Delhi’s EV policy

New Delhi: The Delhi government’s electric vehicles (EV) policy – aimed at reducing air pollution in the Capital – is being revised to include a segment on battery-operated

New Delhi: The Delhi government’s electric vehicles (EV) policy – aimed at reducing air pollution in the Capital – is being revised to include a segment on battery-operated bicycles and trikes, said a senior government official on Saturday, adding that the government has drafted a proposal to offer monetary incentives on their purchase.

HT Image

While the policy was notified by the government in August this year, the amendments are yet to be notified. The proposed revision includes cycles both in the passenger and cargo categories.

A vehicle will be considered as a passenger electric bicycle if it is an electrically assisted pedal cycle with a motor with a maximum speed of 25 km per hour, said the draft pertaining to the proposed revision in the policy which HT has seen.

“A purchase incentive of 25 per cent of the maximum retail price up to a maximum of Rs 5000 per vehicle will be provided to buyers of passenger e-cycles with a fixed additional incentive of Rs 2000 to the first 10,000 e-cycles,” said the document.

The incentive will be available to individual buyers as well as bicycle sharing service providers, it said. An e-cycle will be considered the equivalent of a normal bicycle and will be allowed to use cycle lanes, wherever available, said the document.

It further said, the incentive policy will also cover cargo e-cycles, which can be either two-wheeled or three-wheeled “trikes”. In case of cargo cycles, the purchase incentive will be 33% of the maximum retail price with a cap of Rs 15,000.

The EV policy aims to ensure that by 2024, e-vehicles account for at least 25% of all new vehicle registrations in the capital. It also aims to help achieve the transition of at least 50% of all two-wheelers engaged in last mile delivery to the electric segment.

In case of electric two-wheelers, the maximum incentive on purchase has been fixed at Rs 30,000 while in case of e-cars it is up to Rs 1.5 lakh per vehicle. For e-rickshaws, an amount of up to Rs 30,000 is the incentive for purchase. Buyers have to pay the full amount during purchase and later claim reimbursement from the government, for which the government had launched a website.

In October, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal Arvind Kejriwal had enlisted boosting the EV policy in his action plan to combat air pollution in the Capital.