Delhi Government hosts 4th EV Forum to mark the occasion of 2-Years of successful EV policy implementation

22 August 2022, New Delhi: The Dialogue and Development Commission (DDC) of Delhi, in collaboration with RMI India Foundation, co-hosted the fourth Delhi EV Forum today to celebrate two years of successful implementation of the Delhi EV Policy. The Delhi Government released its three-year action plan to create a robust network of charging and battery swapping stations. The first-ever ?Switch Delhi EV Awards? were presented by the Transport Department to felicitate leaders and role models across 13 categories in the e-mobility sector in Delhi.

The forum, organised at the India Habitat Centre, witnessed a constructive dialogue between the government and various stakeholders of the EV ecosystem. It saw participation from eminent government dignitaries, like Shri Kailash Gahlot, Minister of Transport, Shri Jasmine Shah, Vice Chairperson, DDC Delhi, and Shri Ashish Kundra, Principal Secretary-cum-Commissioner (Transport). Many stakeholders from Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), charging infrastructure manufacturers and operators, DISCOMs, Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs), fleet aggregators, start-ups, academia, and civil society participated in lively discussions about the electric mobility landscape.

The inaugural session included the release of a report documenting the opportunities, challenges, solutions, and insights obtained through two years of rigorous, day-to-day policy implementation. The report, titled "Accelerating Electric Mobility in Delhi: Journey and Insights from Implementing the Delhi Electric Vehicles Policy,? was released by the Transport Department, DDC Delhi, and RMI India Foundation.

In his keynote address, Transport Minister Shri Kailash Gahlot said, ?Under the leadership of Chief Minister, Shri Arvind Kejriwal, we are fulfilling our promises towards the successful implementation of the EV policy. The Delhi EV policy is among the best drafted and executed EV policies in the world. We firmly believe that Delhi?s EV journey, with a focus on three key levers of incentivisation, innovation, and inclusion, will go a long way towards strengthening the EV ecosystem and accelerating transport decarbonisation in India.?

Presenting the policy?s implementation overview, Shri Jasmine Shah said, ?Due to the vision of our Chief Minister, Shri Arvind Kejriwal, to strive for clean air, we have created history with our boldly innovative approach to driving EV adoption. As we reach the halfway mark, Delhi has already emerged as the first state in India where the EV adoption rate has reached double digits and is on par with the states and cities across the world leading EV adoption, like California, Oslo, New York, and Paris. Delhi is leading India?s EV transition due to a collaborative approach, where stakeholders jointly engage in dialogue and discussions, finding resolutions to various issues, and sharing the dream of making Delhi India's EV capital. We decided to keep our strategy technology and business model agnostic to ensure equitable access, and we ensured time-bound implementation through a dedicated institutional setup. "

Notified in August 2020 when the share of EVs in new vehicle registrations was 1.2%, the Delhi EV Policy aimed to improve Delhi?s air quality with the ambitious target of driving the transition to EVs so that they could reach 25% of all new vehicle registrations by 2024. Within two years, Delhi has increased its EV share to an average of 10% in the year 2022 and has gone as high as 12.5% in March 2022.

Over 63,000 EVs have been registered since the policy?s launch, and this steady growth has been supported by at least 2452 charging points and 235 swapping stations operational in Delhi. The EV charging landscape of Delhi has achieved a 28 times growth since the policy?s launch. With such an accelerated expansion of charging points, Delhi has achieved an EV to public charger ratio of 25:1, which is comparable to leading cities like Oslo and Helsinki.

The Delhi Government also released its three-year action plan to create a robust network of charging and battery swapping stations. Sharing insights from the action plan, Shri Ashish Kundra, Principal Secretary-cum-Commissioner (Transport) said, ?Delhi will need close to 18000 public charging points by 2024. An extensive charging network is crucial in achieving our ambitious target of 25 percent EV penetration in new vehicle sales by 2024.?

At the event, leaders of the EV industry were also felicitated with trophies and certificates. Twenty-five pioneers of the EV industry were awarded the Switch Delhi EV Awards 2022 across 13 categories by the Transport Department of GNCTD.

Delegates participating in the forum shared their perspectives and suggestions on Delhi?s EV roadmap and how they could contribute to Delhi?s clean mobility journey. The forum saw discussions on the experience of industry leaders in the two years of the implementation of the Delhi EV Policy. International best practices on accelerating EV adoption and insights were gathered on potential policy interventions to electrify Delhi?s transport sector, especially its public transport, ride-hailing services, and last-mile delivery. The learnings from the 'Switch Delhi? campaign, incentive disbursement, and setting up of public EV charging/swapping in Delhi were widely shared with the leaders of Delhi?s EV ecosystem.

*What is the Delhi EV Forum?*

The Delhi EV Forum seeks to provide a platform for continuous engagement with a broad set of stakeholders to implement the Delhi EV policy through a series of bi-annual meetings, since its establishment in December 2020 by DDC Delhi. Its fourth convening served as a unique platform to recognise the efforts of various stakeholders involved in the success of Delhi?s EV policy as well as to drive dialogue to shape the future of this policy.