380 slots left: Race on for two-wheelers’ registration in Chandigarh

Out of 1,609 additional slots permitted under Chandigarh administration’s amended Electric Vehicle policy, 1,229 have already been taken

Just six days after the UT administration relaxed the cap on number of non-electric two-wheelers permitted in 2023, 76% of the additional two-wheelers allowed have already been bought and registered.

Amending its Electric Vehicle Policy on October 18, Chandigarh administration had brought down the registration target for electric two-wheelers to 15%, from the previous 25%, for financial year 2023-24. (Shutterstock)

Amending its Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy on October 18, the administration had brought down the registration target for electric two-wheelers to 15%, from the previous 25%, for financial year 2023-24.

As a result, the number of permitted non-electric two-wheelers was bumped up from 12,076 to 13,685 — opening 1,609 more registration slots.

But as of Tuesday, 1,229 of these slots were taken, leaving scope for only 380 more.

With Diwali just 19 days away, a period considered auspicious for buying new vehicles and property, automobile sellers are a despondent lot, for the remaining 380 two-wheelers are also expected to be sold in just a couple of days.

Hoping for handsome business in Diwali season through the year, they are now dreading heavy losses.

Around 20,000 non-electric two-wheelers are sold each year in Chandigarh — around 1,600 each month — of which 4,000 vehicles are bought in the festive season alone.

UT transport director Pradhuman Singh said the registration portal will be closed once the quota of 1,609 was met.

Ram Kumar Garg, the finance secretary of the Federation of Automobile Dealers’ Association, Chandigarh, said apart from automobile dealers, people who had set aside funds for two-wheelers for Diwali purchase will also suffer.

While amending the EV Policy, the administration had also decided that once the target for EVs is achieved, the registration of fuel-run vehicles will be permitted beyond the initial capping in the same financial year. Furthermore, there will be no cap on the registration of CNG vehicles, with separate accounting in the database. Additionally, parking will be free for all EVs across Chandigarh.

UT had rolled out its EV Policy in September 2022, applicable for five years, during which it plans to gradually stop registering conventional vehicles to dissuade people from buying vehicles that cause pollution.

But it has been under fire from various quarters for lack of public charging infrastructure, a key enabler for large-scale EV adoption. With no functional charging stations in the city, owners of over 7,000 EVs registered in the past five years are compelled to rely on home electricity before commencing their daily commute.