Delhi Govt Asks Commercial Vehicle Owners to Convert Half of Their Fleet to Electric

New Delhi: The Delhi government has announced that it will educate all commercial vehicle owners about the Electric Vehicles Policy as part of the Switch Delhi campaign which is aimed at raising awareness about the city’s existing and upcoming EV charging infrastructure.

The Delhi government has appealed to all commercial vehicle owners to convert half of vehicles to electric by 2023 and all vehicles by 2025.

The commercial vehicle operators have been told that if they switch over to electric vehicles, the Delhi government will allow all-electric goods carrier vehicles to run on the streets of Delhi for 24 hours. The Delhi government is working on preparing a plan in this regard. All freight vehicles under this scheme will be able to ply the roads of Delhi for 24 hours in peak hours without restrictions.

Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said that in the seventh week of the Switch Delhi Campaign, commercial vehicle owners will be made aware of electric vehicles and Delhi EV policy. Gehlot said commercial vehicles run in large numbers on the roads of Delhi and are the reason behind vehicle pollution. In such a situation, the purchase of commercial electric two-wheeler, cab, cargo vehicles will be encouraged in the national capital.

Gahlot said the Arvind Kejriwal government is giving easy financial incentives on electric vehicles used by commercial companies. Two-wheeler, three-wheeler, four-wheeler goods vehicles, freight carriers, electric rickshaws, electric carts, electric-cars are eligible for financial incentives under the new Delhi EV Policy.

The government has also taken significant steps to reduce the interest rate, given through the Delhi Finance Corporation (DFC) to 5 percent, he said, adding that a plan in this regard will be announced soon.

The scheme can be availed by all types of vehicles. With this decision, it will be easy for commercial companies to convert their vehicles into electric.

Gehlot said there is a large number of commercial vehicles plying the roads of Delhi. By shifting them to electric vehicles, they can contribute significantly in bringing down the level of pollution in the national capital.