Delhi malls get a guide to set up EV charging points

The Delhi government will also provide hand-holding support through the state EV Cell to all malls that commit to achieving the target of installing EV chargers, the DDC -- a government think tank -- said.

Delhi has become the first state in the country to come up with a step-by-step guide to help shopping malls set up charging points for electric vehicles in their parking lots with the Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi (DDC), in partnership with World Resources Institute, India, releasing the ‘Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Guidebook for Shopping Malls in Delhi’ on Friday.

The Delhi government announced the Delhi EV policy in August 2020, with a vision to promote the adoption of electric vehicles and combat air pollution in the city.

The Delhi government will also provide hand-holding support through the state EV Cell to all malls that commit to achieving the target of installing EV chargers, the DDC -- a government think tank -- said.

Providing EV charging facility can benefit shopping malls through increased footfall, increased time spent by customers, improved visibility, boost to the mall’s ‘green’ image, improved customer loyalty and a potential revenue stream for the mall owners, according to the guidebook.

“Every city in the world that has taken a huge jump in e-mobility, did so at the back of strong charging infrastructure. Besides this, we need to ensure that every place that a vehicle stops at has a charging point - be it offices, residences or malls. Such a radical shift has been envisioned in Delhi government’s EV policy that is aimed at making Delhi the EV capital of India,” said DDC vice chairperson Jasmine Shah.

The Delhi government announced the Delhi EV policy in August 2020, with a vision to promote the adoption of electric vehicles and combat air pollution in the city.

Amit Bhatt, Executive Director (Integrated Transport), WRI said, “Apart from the availability of chargers for EVs, one of the major issues is the long charging time. Therefore, vehicle charging with other activities can be a win-win proposition and one way to do it would be during shopping. That is because an average customer spends around 90 minutes in a Delhi shopping mall. So, having an extensive EV charging infrastructure in shopping malls would help customers in charging their vehicles without wasting any additional time.”

Mukesh Kumar, chairman, Shopping Centres Association of India (SCAI), lauded the move.

Yogeshwar Sharma, executive director, Select Citywalk said that the mall intends to install  chargers for EVs beyond 5% of the parking space as mentioned in the guidebook.