Delhi plans ₹50,000 subsidy to convert old cars into EVs
What's the story
The Delhi government is mulling a major financial incentive to promote the retrofitting of old petrol and diesel cars into electric vehicles (EVs). The move is part of a larger plan to tackle air pollution and promote cleaner transport. Under the proposal, a subsidy of ₹50,000 would be given for the first 1,000 such conversions.
Goal
Incentive aims to reduce vehicle scrapping
The proposed incentive is aimed at providing owners of old, restricted vehicles an alternative to scrapping or selling them outside the capital. A senior official said that the high and varying cost of retrofit kits for different models currently deters many from this process. The government hopes these incentives will encourage more people to keep their existing vehicles instead of sending them off for scrapping.
Target audience
High-end vehicle owners to benefit from the scheme
The initiative is expected to benefit high-end vehicle owners the most. Officials said that those who have invested heavily in luxury cars like Mercedes or BMW models are often unwilling to scrap them for a pittance. The incentives, one official said, are aimed at encouraging and enabling the reuse of these expensive vehicles.
Past efforts
Previous attempts at retrofitting faced challenges
This isn't the first time retrofitting has been considered. The Aam Aadmi Party government had tried to simplify the process before but ran into problems, mainly due to the high cost of retrofit kits that differ by model. Retrofitting involves replacing a vehicle's internal combustion engine with a battery-operated electric kit.
Regulations
Delhi's existing vehicle ban and retrofitting incentives
Delhi already has a ban on diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years from plying on its roads. Owners of such vehicles have to pay fines or get their vehicles impounded, with an option to scrap them at authorized facilities or get a No Objection Certificate for selling in other states. The draft EV Policy 2.0 also proposes increasing research fund from ₹5 crore to ₹100 crore for new technologies in battery cells.