Delhi govt to provide subsidy of ₹5,500 to first 10,000 buyers of e-cycles

Delhi government on Thursday announced the inclusion of electric cycles, both personal and cargo, in its EV subsidypolicy, becoming the first state government to announce subsidies for e-cycles. The government will provide a subsidy of ₹5,500 each for the first 10,000 buyers of e-cycles in the city, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said.

The first 1,000 buyers of passenger e-cycles will also be given an additional subsidy of ₹2,000. Subsidy will also be provided on the purchase of heavy duty cargo e-cycles and e-carts for commercial uses. The subsidy on cargo e-cycles will be ₹15,000 each for first 5,000 buyers.

While subsidy was earlier provided to individual buyers of e-carts, now a company or corporate house buying these vehicles will also be provided a subsidy of ₹30,000 each, the minister said. However, only Delhi residents will be eligible for this subsidy scheme under the Delhi EV policy.

The move will make electric cycles more accessible and affordable to a wider set of audience. “We wholeheartedly welcome the decision by the Delhi Government to bring electric cycles under the ambit of its EV policy to provide subsidy. We are seeing users adopt a varied use-case approach (for e-cycles), on both the personal and commercial fronts. The subsidy support by the Delhi Government will boost economic activity and create new sources of income," said Aditya Munjal, CEO, Hero Lectro.

The inclusion of e-cycles in subsidy scheme will highly benefit last-mile mobility and also encourage delivery and logistics firms to opt for e-cycles as an alternative to two-wheelers. Both passenger and personal e-cycles can travelup to45 km on a single charge and have a maximum speed of 25 km/hr.

Gahlot added that presently 45,900 e-vehicles are plying on the city roads, out of which 36 per cent are two-wheelers. Percentage of e-vehicles in total registered vehicles in the city has crossed the 12 per cent mark.

The initiative will go well towards reducing the carbon footprint and push the usage of e-cycles among businesses. "It is encouraging to see the seamless initiatives being pursued by the Delhi State Govt. to promote the agenda of sustainable mobility by easing the adoption of e-cycles, and expanding the sphere of subsidies extended to corporates, apart from individuals. The announcement will further pave the way for all other States to follow as electric cycles are the most affordable form of EVs and clean mobility while also enabling upward economic mobility," said Atulya Mittal, Founder - Nexzu Mobility.