630 EV registered in city since launch of campaign: Govt

The Delhi government on Saturday said 630 electric vehicles (EVs) were registered in the Capital since the launch of the Switch Delhi campaign last week

The Delhi government on Saturday said 630 electric vehicles (EVs) were registered in the Capital since the launch of the Switch Delhi campaign last week.

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The eight-week campaign aims at sensitising residents on the benefits of switching to an EV. It is part of the state government’s EV policy, launched in last year, that includes setting up 500 charging points across the city.

“Analysis by RMI India (a private organisation) reveals that subsidies provided on electric two-wheelers under the policy made the upfront purchase comparable in price to top selling petrol two-wheelers. But the real saving is in the operating cost,” said transport minister Kailash Gahlot.

He said an electric two-wheeler could save a person monthly ₹1,850 compared to a petrol scooter and ₹1,650 compared to a petrol motorcycle. “An average electric two-wheeler provides a lifetime saving of 1.98 tonnes of carbon emissions... (the equivalent of ) roughly 11 trees. We can save our environment by making this switch and we owe this to our future generations,” Gahlot said.

The minister also released statements from leading automakers.

Bajaj Auto MD Rajiv Bajaj, read the release, said the policy inspired the company to accelerate its plan to scale up their electric Chetak as also to introduce the electric avatars its three-wheelers.

Electric vehicle company Ather Energy co-founder and CEO Tarun Mehta is quoted as saying, “We have seen great response across launch markets for the Ather 450X and we will open our experience centre, Ather Space in Delhi in the next few weeks.”

Gahlot said many other EV two-wheeler companies had launched several vehicle models in Delhi.

Jitendar Kumar, a security guard who bought an electric two-wheeler and availed the government subsidy said his e-bike functions smoothly and efficiently.

“I have been able to cut short my fuel expenses since I purchased my EV. My monthly salary is ₹10,000 and I used to spend a lot of money on petrol. Now, I have been able to save around ₹3500 monthly that I used. This has helped me in managing my other expenses,” Kumar said.

Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL), a newly established 100% subsidiary of state-owned Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), said its EVs in Delhi clocked 20 million kilometres on Saturday.

In a statement, the company said that it saved around ₹8.6 crore and prevented the emission of 3,573-tonne of carbon.

“(It) also contributes to 133,000 litres saving in fuel consumption. A total of 565 CESL EVs are running in the national capital... There has been a rise of more than 140% YoY in sales of electric cars that shows the gradual acceptance of the technology among the climate conscious,” CESL said.