One of the first concerns that Meenu Agrawal, a corporate professional from Delhi, had when she thought of buying an electric vehicle (EV) was around charging. It was a year back and there were still fewer people talking about it around her. After over a year’s research, she finally purchased one this year and hasn’t been happier.
Agrawal is the growing tribe of people from Delhi who have shifted to EVs and is part of the show DrivingGreen under the campaign Driving Green where close to 175 stories of electrification of Delhi have been captured. So while you have an auto driver talking about why his riders prefer this mode of transport a travel vlogger shares her love for EV. Concerns ranging from where to find chargers to the safety of batteries were addressed through two panels where all stakeholders got together and addressed challenges and solutions. But now people are even converting their old ICE cars to EVs. People shifted to EVs for ease of business while some made the switch because it takes less than a rupee for a kilometre and some for cleaner air.
Nationwide in India, air pollution is estimated to kill more than two million people a year. As electrification becomes one of the most promising ways for low carbon transition in the transport sector, Delhi has been leading the way in mitigation through electrification.The Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy, which was launched in August 2020, aims to make New Delhi “the EV capital of the world,” with 25 percent of all new vehicles on the city’s roads by 2024 to be powered by electricity. Since the launch of the EV policy, sales have gone up by 40% and EVs now account for 10% of all vehicles being sold each month.
The Delhi EV Policy includes incentives for e-bikes and e-rickshaws. Recently, the government announced that charging stations will offer charging at a lower cost for these smaller electric vehicles. In October, Delhi airport became the first Indian airport to deploy electric vehicles with 57 electric buses. For some EV gave a sustainable lifestyle choice while for others it offered last mile connectivity. Industry voices ranged from safety of batteries to infrastructure availability.
DrivingGreen is your go to place for all matters related to EVs. It’s here you will learn why EVs are the way to go for a clean shift from fossil fuels in the next few years.
