Good News For EV Buyers In Delhi: Here’s All You Want To Know

Delhi is one of the leading cities in India's EV journey, with lakhs of electric vehicles registered, comprehensive subsidies, and a fast pace developing charging infrastructure. Read here to find out how the capital of India is booming into a sustainable mobility hub.

Winter or summer, air pollution is a grim reality that India’s capital has to deal with. More importantly, adopting EVs is the logical course of action for its residents. Notably, there are more than a lakh electric vehicles (EVs) in Delhi. Clearly, the national capital region’s rapid adoption of EVs is pegged to increase manifold as there is an uptick in consumer sentiment, industry analysts observe. 

How many EVs are there in Delhi?

According to news reports, there are more than a lakh EVs in Delhi; the trends indicate a growth-centric roadmap to double the number of EVs across the national capital region. However, whenever there has been a decline in the number of EV registrations, this has been attributed by sector expertise to lack of consistency in regulatory policies, as compared with states such as Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala.

Why are EVs costly?

Typically, the material components inside batteries make EVs costly as these are metals which are not available easily, such as lithium batteries. Mining and processing these make it costly. However, through buyer-friendly leading car purchasing platforms such as CarDekho, EVs don’t have to create a hole in your pocket - we make sure your dream car is within your range through a host of affordable features including easy EMIs. 

Is EV Car toll free?

In Delhi, there are no extra toll-free related benefits for EV car owners.

Tackling Air Pollution: Why EVs are a Boon for Delhi

Across Delhi, studies pinpoint that about 42% of the vehicular pollution is due to two and three wheelers, which is further amplified in Delhi’s EV policy in 2020. 

Few key regulatory provisions in Delhi’s EV policy pertains to the following

• Subsidy to facilitate 30,000 charging points for the 2 and 3 wheeler vehicles

• Discoms directed to support online purchase of private charging points

• Single window to simplify the process of charging points

• Availing EV subsidy and obtaining EV tariff

• Highlight existing barriers for deployment of EV charging points

Currently, Delhi has 1919 charging stations, 2452 charging points and 232 battery stations. To expand the region’s network of public charging stations and battery swapping stations, Delhi has identified and set up 500 points spanning 100 locations that are further bucketed into additional packages on the basis of spatial assessment and detailed site analysis. This includes supportive measures such as land being allocated at highly concessional rates and subsidies for slow charges and setting up a specific number of slow, moderate and fast charges on every site. 

Here’s a quick snapshot of location-wise summary of charging stations, charging points and battery swapping stations across Delhi:

East Delhi

• 118 charging stations

• 141 charging points

• 60 battery swapping stations

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West Delhi

• 60 charging stations

• 83 charging points

• 68 battery swapping stations

South Delhi

• 157 charging stations

• 218 charging points

• 5 battery swapping stations

Central Delhi

• 48 charging stations

• 51 charging points

• 12 battery swapping stations

South West Delhi

• 79 charging stations

• 191 charging points

• 24 battery swapping stations

North Delhi

• 24 charging stations

• 24 charging points

• 12 battery swapping stations

North East Delhi

• 14 charging stations

• 14 charging points

• 6 battery swapping stations

North West Delhi

• 43 charging stations

• 49 charging points

• 58 battery swapping stations

Big Boost for EV Owners in Delhi

Notably, Delhi’s EV policy has received an extension till March 2025. In a big boost for EV owners in Delhi, this means that all road tax exemptions and subsidies for EV owners that were pending earlier can now be rolled out. Currently, Gujarat offers the friendliest EV subsidies and exemptions in India for EV buyers and owners.

An added advantage is that EVs can be charged when it is idle and as technology advances, this will soon be a reality for EVs. Therefore, utilising existing private and semi-public spaces such as local kirana stores, malls, theatres, hospitals, workspaces, RWAs, etc, which typically have parking space and high dwell time for vehicles. 

What is the Cost of EV Charging in Delhi?

Wherever you are located right now in India, no matter where your location is, you probably know that the unit of measuring energy consumed is kWh. Basically, this  determines the monthly electricity bill you pay based on your consumption. The same applies to your EV battery capacity. Typically, this may range somewhere between 15 to 40 kWh. 

Consider this: If you have a bigger battery pack, the more range it gives. To get an idea of the cost of EV charging,  figure out and familiarise yourself with the per-unit electricity prices in your neighbourhood as several factors come into play such as the area you live and the electricity meter you use, sanctioned load, among other things. As electricity rates tend to vary, let’s assume the average electricity rate is Rs. 8 per unit for residential use and Rs. 4 for EV charging stations. 

Therefore, if you consume 1 kWh, the charge will be Rs. 8 if you do the charging at home and Rs. 4 when you opt to charge at a charging station. Given this average rate, consider the battery capacity of your EV along with the rate of electricity in your area, you can easily go ahead and calculate the cost of charging your EV.

How To Calculate Your EV Charging Cost?

Not everyone enjoys doing math, but this one is super easy. 

The best formula to calculate your EV charging cost is by multiplying the per unit consumption rate with your EV’s battery pack capacity. 

Maximising EV Growth in Delhi: Monetising Spaces, incentives for EV buyers

With current incentives in Delhi, the cost of chargers will reduce the cost in a significant way, almost pegged up to around 70%, which means this can translate into revenue generating opportunities for thousands of Delhi’s kirana store owners. 

For owners of commercial spaces, such as malls and theatres, this helps to monetise their parking space as they can enable overnight charging facilities for EV fleet owners and delivery service providers. 

When charging facilities are made easy, EV owners enjoy the flexibility of being able to charge whenever they park their vehicles in a shopping mall or local kirana store. This way, they don’t need to visit a petrol pump to recharge the vehicle. 

A consumer-friendly EV regulatory approach in Delhi has led to its fast adoption as widespread availability of charging points is a huge enabler. To revive the market, Delhi’s long-term policy incentives and EV subsidies can boost consumer sentiments. On the consumer front, CarDekho offers a range of cost-effective and high quality EVs for potential buyers to choose from, in addition to detailed articles on the same.

In the coming years, Delhi is poised to become an EV Hub and will be ranked among the most charging friendly cities in the world.