Delhi to launch portal to retrofit vehicles with electric kits soon

Planning to turn your old car into an EV? The Delhi government will soon make that process easier for customers who plan to stretch the lives of their favourite cars which may have reached end of the road. A new portal will be launched soon for people in Delhi which will allow them to retrofit old vehicles with electric kits. The state government had earlier revealed this plan to help reduce pollution in the city as well as maximise the switch to electric mobility amid its EV push. In November last year, the Delhi government had announced that 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles could be converted into electric vehicles to avoid scrapping.

The new portal, to be launched by the Delhi Transport Department, will bring in both customers and agencies who are involved in the process of retrofitting vehicles with electric kits. By bringing them together on one platform, the Delhi government wants the process to be as smooth and transparent as possible. Customers will be able to pick their choice of companies to turn their old vehicles into electric cars. The cost of turning an old petrol or diesel vehicle could be anywhere between ₹3 lakh and ₹5 lakh.

According to the Delhi government, the portal promises to serve as a one-stop shop for vehicle owners to provide information on how to get their new electric vehicles registered with RTO. The portal, which is likely to be launched in the second half of this month, will be developed by the National Informatics Centre.

So far, 11 companies have been shortlisted to carry out the process of retrofitting electric kits in old vehicles in Delhi. The companies were approved by the International Centre for Automotive Technologies (ICAT) and Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI).

Delhi is home to one of the largest group of EV owners with more than 1.43 lakh electric vehicles registered till May this year. In an effort to reduce pollution in the city, the Delhi government announced its EV Policy two years ago. The city does not allow petrol cars aged more than 15 years or diesel vehicles older than 10 years to ply on the roads. In January this year, nearly one lakh diesel vehicles were de-registered in Delhi.