Rs 50,000 each to first 1,000 retrofitted vehicles: Delhi govt plans incentive to change old cars to EVs

Retrofitting basically allows vehicle owners to remove and replace internal combustion engines (ICEs) with battery-operated electric kits.However, the proposal has been explored earlier. The previous AAP government also introduced measures to make the retrofitting of vehicles easy, transparent, and accessible to the public. But the plan could not take off as the retrofit kits are costly – one of the key challenges that came in the way of the proposal. “Many people do not go for retrofitting of vehicles because it is very expensive and comes at different prices for different models. Thus, the government is planning to propose these incentives so that a large number of people can re-use their vehicles instead of scrapping them or selling them at a lower price,” said a senior official.

Officials said the retrofitting of old vehicles will largely benefit those who own luxury and expensive cars. “We have observed that a large number of people owning Mercedes or BMW cars do not want to sell their vehicles or scrap them. They invested, for instance, Rs 50 lakh, and in return, they get very little. So, the incentives will promote and help people to reuse their costly vehicles,” an official explained.

At present, in Delhi, petrol and diesel vehicles that have completed 15 and 10 years of age, respectively, are restricted from plying on the roads. If such vehicles are found on the road, action is taken by enforcement agencies — either challans are being issued or the vehicles are being impounded. Owners of such vehicles can get them scrapped at an authorised scraping facility or obtain an NOC from the Transport department to sell them in neighbouring states.

The restrictions were implemented following the orders of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the Supreme Court to curb vehicular pollution in the city, one of the key contributors to air pollution in the Capital.

Under EV Policy 2.0, the government may also provide incentives to people for purchasing electric cars after their end of life vehicles or ELVs are scrapped at authorised RVSFs (Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities), officials said.

Further, to strengthen the EV ecosystem in the national capital, the Transport department has also recommended increasing the Research and Development (R&D) fund from the current Rs 5 crore to Rs 100 crore. “Rs 5 crore for the R&D fund, i.e., just 0.2% of the total outlay. We recommend Rs 100 crore, i.e., 2% of the revised outlay, especially for emerging technologies in cells, and chargers,” an official said.

The government is also planning to set a target to increase the number of electric two-wheelers in Delhi from 5 lakh to 12 lakh in coming years. “Delhi annually registers 6 lakh two-wheelers, with 50,000 EVs, which is 8%. Over three years, it will be 18 lakh, with two lakh EVs (11% organically). With 5 lakh EV support from the policy, it makes 39% only. However, by increasing the target to 12 lakh e-bikes, Delhi can achieve 70% EV penetration in the next three years,” an official underlined.

Further, increasing incentives per swapping station, including batteries, to Rs 6 lakh from Rs 1.2 lakh has also been recommended. In the upcoming policy, the government also plans to introduce a safety star rating for e-rickshaws and e-carts, which are already 100% electric, but most vehicles still use lead-acid batteries.

“Converting old vehicles into electric ones will be beneficial for people who use their vehicles for limited purpose and are not very dependent on them. Also, there are different cars and models. It depends on how viable the kits are and whether they come with or without a gearbox,” said Anil Chikkara, a former Transport department official.